Get new skills and expertise to stand out in job market

For the past few years jobs are shrinking due to the presence of internet and other technologies which have led to automation rendering some workers jobless thus acquisition on news skill sets becomes vital in this era.

The world of jobs and employment has drastically changed due to arrival of the internet. New technologies require new skills sets and expertise to effectively utilize it. This has negatively impacted employees who are laggards and tenacious in terms of acquiring new skills. Advances in technology is likely to weed out laggards from the job market and render them jobless.

Many employees find it hard to adapt to new skills thanks to ‘change adversity, feeling. As they wallow and try to grind on how, when and why they should acquire new skills, employees who grew up in the internet era are salivating for their positions. It’s therefore a requirement that employees acquire new skills in order to stand the test of new technological advances.

For example, in banking industry there used to be many cashiers and customer attendants but now days the internet has taken over. Such activities have been automated and now runs on autopilot thanks to mobile banking which is now gaining traction with every passing minute.

Educational institutions such as universities, colleges, TVETs and vocational training centers should re-evaluate the value and relevance of the knowledge they impart on students. They should ask whether it matches with the current job market needs or it requires some adjustments.

The government is not left out here. Policies on education especially on higher education sector must be evaluated critically in relation to new trends in job market and expertise. It’s unfortunate that universities, colleges and TVETs produces graduates who cannot utilize new technologies. Statistics shows that 500,000 to 800,000 youths join the labour market every year. The question of whether they are graduates or not isn’t the case. Their adaptability and skills caries the day. We have heard of many cases where new recruits are fired due to lack of certain skills in the job. Others fail to qualify for the jobs altogether owing to the same issue.

It’s therefore important that as we talk of career development and getting employment, skills required in this era must be the number one priority. These skills include but not limited to information literacy, digital literacy, creativity, communication skills, adaptability and critical thinking. Youth who are jobless must find ways of learning these skills in order to add value to their expertise and stand a chance of securing employment.