In today’s dynamic job market, the need to have a unique skill(s) cannot be emphasized enough. New work models are cropping up like freelancing, where employees don’t have to necessarily sit at a desk to work for an organization. Within many companies, teams are learning to be agiler, to work with distributed and remote workers, and adapt to the ever-changing market.
It’s unfortunate that in Africa, the education system has failed to follow suit with the changing work models. The system remains rigid and doesn’t encourage students to be creative. Consequently, when graduates get into the job market, they can hardly secure a placement given the stiff competition. The idea of becoming job-creators through different start-ups is also too alien to pursue. Given that individual efforts can only do much to change the school system, you have to be intentional about acquiring new skills outside of it.
Well, for those currently working, you shouldn’t get so comfortable in your jobs either. A recent research by the World Economic Forum shows that the Half-Life of a job-skill is about 5 years. This means that the skill you have right now will be half as valuable in the next five years. So, it’s important to keep re-skilling yourself as you prepare for the future market.
The first step is to ask yourself these questions:
1. What unique skills do I have? 2. Are those skills relevant to the job market today? 3. What skills will be in demand five years from now?
Based on your response to the above questions, start making deliberate efforts to skill and re-skill yourself. Make good use of the resources you have now so that you can improve your marketability in the years to come.
Thanks for reading, until next time…
Econsimplified 