At present, more than 35% of the skills we develop in the vast majority of jobs are not yet considered crucial for performing our daily tasks or jobs.
However, if we look around us, we realize that there are increasingly more technologies in our daily lives, and that, in one way or another, we talk more about digital transformation. We use these technologies to our advantage for our comfort and interest, without paying much attention to what will come next..
People are a part of this digital transformation. There's no turning back; you can't put doors on the field. All emerging technologies will transform the global economy and, consequently, our working lives in the coming years.
As we mentioned, people themselves use technology more and more every day. This directly influences companies. Every time we click on our mobile phones, tablets, or computers, we are transforming how companies operate, and, consequently, the skills of their workers.
Unintentionally, the skills acquired over time will no longer be valid in the coming years for performing work.
To give an example that we can all see... checkout personnel in shopping centers are being rapidly replaced by automated checkout machines.
Many of you may even know checkout personnel who shop online or use self-checkout machines themselves because it's more convenient or faster for them in that moment.
Yes, every time we click or use technology, we influence society, and that's why it's necessary to acquire new skills in various environments to avoid being left out of the job market or social sphere.
The challenge for society in the coming years will be significant, and in many sectors, new technologies are already reducing the set of skills employees need.
As an example...
Artificial Intelligence will ensure we use much less paper and pens, have fewer meetings, and spend less time in production chains.
The production lines in industries, through their own data and learning algorithms, will optimize and automate themselves, reducing time, errors, consumption, costs, while improving production to offer more appealing products to all of us. We may end up buying these products with a click without realizing how many people were involved. 😂 .
But the truth is that a high percentage of current jobs will gradually disappear because, as we mentioned, many of the skills required will no longer be as essential...
A couple more examples...
With the arrival of 5G and its low latency, many new services will become part of our daily lives, such as healthcare services.
Through home sensors or technological surgical devices (tele-surgery) in certain hospitals, many health issues will be addressed, reducing costs, improving service, and providing better diagnosis to patients. This will be difficult to accept, as proximity was considered a strong support for patients, but gradually, it will become a part of our lives, and future generations will see it as a positive development. (In the past, we always had to go to the bank, and we thought it would always be that way... How much longer do we think physical money will last...?)
Advances in food genomics are already transforming the way we grow and fish for food, and many of the skills acquired over generations will no longer be valid and will need to be replaced by new ones. This will lead to a completely different approach to farming and fishing compared to how it has been done for many years.
Naturally, it's not all about job losses. The digital transformation that is happening brings many benefits that, when used effectively, will lead to positive progress in societies, allowing people to spend more time enjoying their surroundings.
Through knowledge and the search for talent, individuals acquire new skills and implement new tools and production models. Through these changes, society will shift towards more sustainable models that benefit everyone.
The world of knowledge is reaching society, and this is where society and companies need to accelerate and develop talent through employee training and knowledge, so they can acquire new skills aligned with the future production models.
The implementation of robotics, advanced biometrics, the Internet of Things, cloud computing, augmented reality, virtual reality, machine learning, blockchain, 3D printing at all levels, quantum computers, Artificial Intelligence, energy transformation, the new change in healthcare services through technology, 5G, the need to work on reducing CO2, digital twins, technological microbiology, and many more technologies will change how society perceives the environment and how it works.
Society and the environment cannot be sustained with the skills, methods, and ways of working we have had until now. Therefore, it's time for all, regardless of age or status, to modify their perceptions so that the "technological gap" we face causes as little harm as possible to those who cannot adapt to the new models.
Naturally, companies and governments will have to work extensively in this direction and make disruptive technology knowledge accessible to all, leaving behind obsolete methods and technologies while bringing talent and well-being to workers.
