Preparing You for the Future of Work by Murad Salman Mirza

Preparing you for the

Foreword

HR Future can help you fulfil your destiny This ebook is intended to give you a glimpse of the quality of content that HR Future features every month in its print and digital magazines, as well as on the HR Future web site (hrfuture.net). Focusing on the Future of Work, this ebook features articles that will enlighten and inspire HR Professionals who are tasked with leading and managing the change in their organisations. And we want HR Future members to be the most informed HR Professionals in the country. If you would like monthly and daily access to high quality content that you can implement right now in the real world, I invite you to join the HR Future family. In a world that is being disrupted by the natural evolution of business trends as well as the challenges we face in the economy, you need sound advice to guide you in the decisions and actions you take. HR Future has been doing this for thousands of HR Professionals for 16 years. We still have an active member who joined us 16 years ago, despite the fact that he is now the HR Director of his international company’s Dubai operation. He makes sure his copy of HR Future is delivered to him every month. Once you discover the gold on the pages of our print and digital magazine, you’ll be hooked. As you start implementing the ideas you acquire in the magazine, you’ll gain a credibility you never thought possible. That’s because you will be surrounded by experts in the magazine who help you make insightful and wise decisions. All you need to do is email Monique at monique@hrfuture.net with the word “JOIN” in the subject line and she will send you a membership form to complete. As soon as you return it to her, she will do the necessary to get you up and running. Join us now and start a journey that will help you fulfil your destiny as an HR professional!

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Contents Foreward 1 Contents 2 Global trends study spills the key to “future – proofing” HR

HR, get ready to do something new

Do you know how to recruit Afrillennials?

AI offers alluring promise of a blissful tomorrow

Skills planning for the disruptive Fourth Industrial Revolution

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Global trends study spills the key to “future-

proofing” HR HR professionals would do well to make the necessary changes in light of current trends. By Anne-Magriet Schoeman

ercer’s 2016 Global Talent Trends Study examines the top trends impacting today’s workforce and how organisations are responding. The study, which incorporates the views both of employers and employees on key workplace issues and priorities, is based on the perspectives of more than 1,730 HR leaders and over 4,500 employees in all industries across 17 countries. South Africa was also a part of this global study and the key message is that companies in South Africa need to simplify their HR processes for future success. With tightening labour markets, increased sophistication in hiring for best fit, and a more demanding employee population, the key to achieving business growth is radically redefining how talent is managed, developed and incentivised. According to the study, the first study to take into account the

The key to achieving business growth is radically redefining how talent is managed, developed and incentivised.

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perspective of both employers and employees – a lack of development, outdated processes, and discontent with the role of managers are the main drivers of workforce dissatisfaction. Astonishingly, 85% of organisations report that their talent management programmes and policies need an overhaul. Managing these changes requires support from leadership; however only 4% of HR professionals report that the HR function is viewed as a strategic business partner within their organisations. Additionally, the study finds nine out of 10 organisations anticipate that the competition for talent will increase in 2016 and more than one-third expect this increase to be significant. However, despite 70% of organisations reporting they are confident about filling critical roles with internal candidates, 28% of employees say they plan to leave in the next 12 months even though they are satisfied with their current role.

Workforce trends and top priorities

In today’s global environment, successful talent strategies depend on an organisation’s ability to engage, inspire and retain employees of different genders, ages, races and backgrounds. According to the study, leveraging an increasingly diverse labour pool is the third most important workforce trend impacting business, following the rising competition for talent from emerging economies and talent scarcity. Bridging the gap between employee and employer views will require substantial changes from HR. This includes improved operational capabilities around talent sourcing, enhanced tools and managerial capabilities to deliver a compelling career proposition, and proficiency in workforce analytics for a data-driven approach to managing talent flows. In tackling talent issues, employers need to make sure that their efforts to build the workplace of the future will have a material impact on attraction and productivity. Mercer’s study identified five priorities for organisations to address this year: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Build diverse talent pools; Embrace the new work equation; Architect a compelling career; Simplify talent processes; and Redefine the value of HR.

While these priorities are consistent across organisations and regions, they are viewed differently by employees and employers. South African survey highlights Almost one third (31%) of South African companies report HR process simplification as a top talent management priority in 2016. South Africa reported the highest score on this amongst all countries that contributed to the survey. Additionally a very high percentage of 83% of the companies state that their work environment (workplace design, layout and amenities) supports employee productivity. Furthermore, 83% of companies are stating that their leaders are being held accountable for attracting and supporting diverse, inclusive teams. For performance management ratings, more than one-half (55%) of South African

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companies did not make any changes to their ratings in 2015. However, almost one-third (31%) of South African companies did eliminate ratings in 2015. This is the second highest percent across all countries. Finally, four in ten (41%) South African companies report that a change plan has been approved to implement workforce training in 2016. This study shows that the workforce of today is forcing a new level of transparency between employers and employees. Successful companies will navigate these changes by not only challenging how work has been done in the past, but by actively considering how it could, and might, be done tomorrow. n Anne-Magriet Schoeman is Talent Leader at Mercer Africa, www.mercer.com.

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HR, get ready to do something

new

The biggest opportunities for HR leaders to make a difference lie outside of their traditional work. By David Creelman

hen cutting edge HR leaders get together to discuss the future, they often end up saying something like, “… the future of HR or whatever will replace HR …”. It’s that latter phrase that should capture your attention. The sense is not just that HR needs to get better or that it needs to evolve, but that maybe it needs to become something else altogether. HR has a problem with its reputation. A consultant who works with small firms said to me, “HR is where people go to complain that their co-worker has smelly feet.” Other professionals have told me, “I don’t really know what HR does. It’s the department behind that locked door.” And HR has long suffered in its unpopular role as compliance police.

77% o f freelancers

say the best days are yet ahead for freelancing

69% o f freelancers said

technology has made it easier to find freelance work

Source: https://benrmatthews.com/freelance-statistics-2015/

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HR professionals dream of flying away from that reputation. Furthermore, HR leaders who are envisioning new forms of organisations, are losing interest in the traditional work of posting jobs and running training programmes. They no longer dream of adding new capabilities, they dream of breaking free of the old HR. Perhaps the best route for HR leaders who want to break free of the past, is to abandon the notion of a normal job. A job, by its nature, is about doing routine things. If HR leaders hunger to push their skills and insights to the limit, then they should be looking for project work as a kind of internal consultant. I suspect that forward looking HR leaders don’t really want to be the head of, say, a “work engineering” department. They want to be the inventor of work engineering. They want to figure out how it would fit into their organisation and, once that is done, they would want to move on to something new. CEOs should recognise that their best HR leaders may be feeling that the big opportunities to make a difference lie outside their traditional work. Some HR leaders would love to play a role in helping the organisation tap into the on-demand workforce or re-invent the physical office or use analytics to uncover the true nature

Today 53 million Americans are independent workers (34% for the workforce).

40% of the U.S. workforce will be independent workers by 2020.

Source: http://bit.ly/1AeMjN0

of knowledge worker productivity. If the CEO wants that as well, then it’s best to move that HR professional out of a traditional job and unleash them on a grand project. Letting one of your best people out of an important job, and allowing them to tackle a project that sits well outside-the-box has its risks. But if they are telling you that they are getting a glimpse of a future that sits beyond traditional HR, perhaps you should trust them to run with it. In the end it may be that it is not the HR department that needs to break free but the individuals that need an opportunity to go beyond doing a job, to finding a way to do something really new and important. n David Creelman is CEO of Canada-based Creelman Research, www.creelmanresearch.com. He has written a book about the Uber-isation of work and helps HR professionals build their skills in analytics and evidence-based thinking.

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Do you know how to recruit

Afrillennials?

You need more than just a rational approach if you want to attract and keep Afrillennials in your company. By Andy Coe

t’s happening. Millennials are steadily overtaking older staff as South Africa’s largest representative generation of workers, introducing an entirely new mindset that businesses will have to master to recruit and retain the new workforce. In the US, Millennials are defined as people born between 1980 and 2000. South African Millennials or “Afrillennials”, as a Student Village study has named them, were born from 1990 onwards, and have been influenced by major local cultural, political and economic shifts. Afrillennials aged 16-26 currently make up almost 10% of all employed workers. By 2025, this group together with the new batch of young workers will add up to nearly 40% of the workforce. By 2030, the original group and their successors will make up about 75% of all staff. But Afrillennials have completely different needs and expectations of the workplace than previous generations, which will require new thinking to attract and integrate them.

What Afrillennials really want

Afrillennials grew up with TV, Internet and cell phones. If there’s a tech shortcut, they’ll find it to work smarter. They also want a

Afrillennials have completely different needs and expectations of the workplace than previous generations, which will require new thinking to attract and integrate them.”

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more flexible work environment, says Student Village. As the first born-free generation after Apartheid, Afrillennials are sensitive to social cohesion, the study says. Their openness to other cultures make them best positioned to create cultural harmony at work. Afrillennials want to be part of the solution and make a positive difference. They’d also love to travel and work overseas, but most want to return home. Afrillennials value getting the right degree to land a high-paying job at a big, well respected, global company, says Student Village. They want it all – rapid career growth, the best tech, perks and work-life balance – and they want it now (YOLO, you only live once). With parents that grew up in an expanding economy and gave their kids a lot, Afrillennials are also very ambitious. But the study finds they’re also scared to fail and very risk averse when making big decisions. They need lots of mentorship and feedback. They feel weighed down by Ubuntu tax (contributing financially to their families) and they dream about financial independence. There’s a lot companies can offer Afrillennials. Many already have the right social initiatives in place and, as businesses move into Africa, there are more opportunities for international work and travel. But, this isn’t always mentioned in recruitment advertising.

Where HR goes wrong

Companies still use a one-size-fits-all approach to recruitment and don’t think enough about audience segmentation. While companies have put particular thought into graduate recruitment, they treat all other job seekers as the same. You have to segment your audiences according to demographics like age, motivation and values to understand their triggers and share the right message through the best channel. This is especially key with Afrillennials as they’re so different from preceding generations. The other big factor is how you integrate Afrillennials once they get to the workplace. Young workers will migrate to environments where they feel most comfortable. If they come up against old ways of treating staff, they won’t stay. The two worlds need to come together, but how are you reshaping the business at different levels to hold on to them?

How to recruit and retain Afrillennials

Instead of focusing career page messaging and job adverts on purely rational messaging, companies should engage Afrillennials via motivational triggers at an emotional level – the values of the business, what it’s contributing to society and

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what exciting projects they’ll get to action. The chance to be exposed to new things, developed and grow their networks is very important to Afrillennials. Google, AirBnB, Facebook and L’Oréal really get the emotional triggers right. They’re also good at using more engaging kinds of media, like video testimonials. The work environment and how it operates is also important – how the office is laid out, what equipment’s available, what flexibility is available in working hours, and can they work remotely. The space should feel more like home with recreational areas, but have all the functionality of an office. Open plan is good as long as there are quiet spaces to get work done.

Where to start the process

Begin with your scarce skills areas. Get a few Afrillennial high-performers that fit your culture and conduct a profiling exercise with them by asking a lot of questions: what media do you consume? What influences your decisions? What kind of messages would attract you into a job? What keywords would you use in your search? What is it about a company that would most attract you? Once you understand them, it will be easier to create a recruitment advertisement that includes both the rational and emotional aspects that would appeal to an Afrillennial. You’ll also be in a better position to select the right channels most appropriate to Afrillennials.

Meeting of the minds

Everyone’s still grappling with how different Afrillennials are, which can lead to a lot of tension in the workplace. If you take the time to understand Afrillennials and start working internally with some of the key messages, you can start moving towards this younger generation. Attracting the best Afrillennails in South Africa’s scarce skills market and integrating them is a priority since they’ll make up such a big part of the future workforce. If you don’t start now, you’re going to run out of time to prepare. n Andy Coe is the Head of Client Services at graylink, www.graylink.biz. graylink was the Main Sponsor of the Future of Work Masterclasses hosted by HR Future at Leaderex in August.

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AI offers alluring promise of a blissful tomorrow Consider this organisational overview of the human partnership with Artificial Intelligence (AI). By Murad Salman Mirza

he aura of ‘Groundbreaking Technology’ has long been touted as the ‘majestic’ manifestation of human ingenuity with ‘innovation’ being the ‘compelling’ driver and ‘progress’ holding the ‘motivation’ portfolio. History has borne witness to three industrial revolutions and we are now in the throes of the fourth one. This has been highlighted by Klaus Schwab in his article ‘The Fourth Industrial Revolution: what it means, how to respond’, as follows:

Navigating the next industrial revolution

Revolution 1

Revolution 2

Revolution 3

Revolution 4

Steam, water, mechanical production equipment

Division of labour, electricity, mass production

Cyber-physical systems

Year: 1784

Figure 1

Year: 1870

Year: 1969

Year: ?

www.weforum.org/pages/the-fourth-industrial-revolution-by-klaus-schwab/

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The rapid infusion of ubiquitous technology has prompted new genres of lexicon to capture the extent of transformation that is reaching into all spheres of human life. Some of these are: Internet of Things (IoT), Augmented Reality (AR), Intelligence Amplification (IA), Artificial Intelligence (AI) and so on. All such forms of technological advancement are in various stages of development/adaption/adoption in different fields, with AI capturing the limelight supplemented by the strides being made in aligned areas, such as Neurorobotics, Computational Neuroscience, Computational Linguistics, Combinational Materials Science, Cybernetics, 3D printing and others. While there is general agreement that the pace of technological innovation and discovery will be remarkable in the coming decades, there are broad differences as to how this will actually manifest in the daily lives of people. Futurists/forwardthinkers/philosophers/strategists are consistently voicing opinion on a multitude of factors that will gain prominence in the years ahead, impacting all facets of life. Such viewpoints need to be weighed up against the following seven questions:

01. W hat kind of changes will be there in the future?

This question refers to various types of changes, such as genetic transmutation, nanotechnology, autonomous transportation, real-time hybrid interactive education, autonomous manufacturing, highly customised services and so on.

02. W hy will these changes take place?

This question refers to the needs that will drive such a change, such as cancer cures, extending life span, human accidents/errors/fatigue/stress reduction, cost optimisation, knowledge storage/preservation/consumption, environmental concerns, product robustness/reliability, wow factor and others.

03. H ow dominant will these changes be?

This question refers to the extent of influence exercised by such changes, such as its exclusivity, whether it will be pervasive, how long it will last, its obsolescence, and so forth.

04. W ho will be the primary drivers of such changes?

This question refers to the influential stakeholders, such as top/senior leadership, government regulators, policy makers, global consortiums, industrial alliances, judiciary, public opinion makers, amongst others.

05. H ow will these changes look like?

This question refers to the actual face of changes, such as medical nanobots, pilotless commercial planes, cyborg teachers, AI employees, holographic smart-shopping assistants and so on.

06. W hen will these changes take place?

This question refers to an educated determination of the timelines of such changes becoming ingrained in daily life, such as within the next five years, within a decade, around 30 years or longer.

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07. W here will these changes take place?

This question refers to the regions/countries/cities/places where such changes will be realised more readily than others, such as North America, England, New York, small towns, agricultural communities, oceans, wilderness or other areas.

Despite the boldness of their opinions, hardly anyone is venturing into presenting a visual context of what the future organisation will look like in an era of HumanAI partnership. Allow me to present my view of the basic organisational structure of the future enterprise, a publicly traded company that will become the norm in technologically-advanced countries within the 21st century. See diagram on the following page. I have picked a manufacturing example to convey my perspective. However, it can easily be viewed from a services side if the manufacturing functions are omitted and the services elements are inserted in their place. Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s take a brief look at the key characteristics of the aforementioned basic organisational structure of the future enterprise (Figure 2).

Basic Organisational Structure for the future Enterprise Hub and Spoke Model

R&D

(Research & Development)

P&P

Finance

(Planning & Production)

Cerebral Core (Human and Artificial Intellegence)

Supply Chain

(Strategic Leadership & Key Stakeholder Management)

Led by AI

(Customer Experience)

S&M

TM & OD

(Talent Management & Organisational Development)

Figure 2

S&D

(Storage & Distribution)

(Sales & Marketing)

Shared Leadership Led by Humans

Envisaged, created and developed by Murad Salman Mirza

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General attributes

The organisational structure will be no more hierarchical; rather, it will gravitate towards a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Hub and Spokeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; model. Most organisations will be global in scope and generally operate with a human workforce of approximately 1,000 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 5,000. Such a size will be achieved by the huge induction of AI in different functions and massive layoffs of the human workforce. Consequently, current large multinationals, as a survival tactic, will reduce to such a size and new organisations/startups of the future will eventually reach such a threshold in employees. The new size will evolve into a new type of entity that I will name a Medium-ToLarge Enterprise (MLE). It will possess the primed agility of a medium enterprise and the matured sophistication of a large enterprise. It will be very highly focused on innovation and supremely technology-driven, with AI taking a shared and visible role with its human colleagues/peers. Business processes will be optimised at much higher levels than Six Sigma and practically achieve zero defects. Mergers and acquisitions will become extinct due to the ubiquitous nature of technology/ expertise/know-how. Management systems will be seen a sacred constitution and will be flexible, but robust enough to sustain market dynamics. Carefully defined core values will cement the corporate foundations and will be actively practised by both humans and AI. Formal designations will be minimal and will be largely replaced by strategic and operational roles with clearly defined relevant skill sets. Employees will be techsavvy and multi-skilled, with significant cross-functional exposure.

Human

Providing the Vision & Mission and directing remedial measures to ensure congruence

Providing feedback on the efficacy of the stated Vision & Mission and monitoring congruence

Developing the overall business direction & associated strategy and taking remedial measures for achievement

Advising on the overall business direction and formulation/monitoring of associated strategy

Setting strategic goals/objectives and directing the enablement of suitable corrective/preventive actions to ensure achievement

Advising on setting strategic goals/ objectives, monitoring their achievement and assisting in taking suitable corrective/ preventive actions

Managing sound relationships with key stakeholders and taking remedial measures for improvement

Monitoring the quality of relationships with key stakeholders and advising on improvement measures

Establishing and devising corporate policies/ procedures/processes and directing the enablement of suitable corrective/preventive actions to ensure achievement

Advising on establishing and devising corporate policies/procedures/processes, monitoring their achievement and assisting in taking suitable corrective/preventive actions

Figure 3

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Talent Management will significantly tilt in favour of being a science than an art. Total Rewards package will be highly attractive. Attrition rates will be negligible. There will be high focus on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives and environmental ownership. Big Data use will be prevalent and used extensively in all facets of the organisation. The HR function will be split into Talent Management (TM) and Organisational Development (OD), with AI having rights as full-time employees through policies/procedures that will cater to their unique requirements.

Cerebral core

This will be the main hub of the organisation, and will be operated jointly by both human and AI colleagues/peers. See figure 3.

Other functions

Shared-leadership functions will follow the pattern of the cerebral core by splitting responsibilities according to relevant skill sets. AI-led functions will have an AI as a functional head and will be assisted by a team of AI and human members serving in various assigned roles. Humans will only lead the TM and OD function and will be assisted by human and AI team members according to their relevant skill sets.

Conclusion

The aforementioned reflection of the future enterprise has been presented as a thought-provoking reflection of what can be expected in the years ahead. Technology is evolving at a furious pace, buoyed by the comforting proclamation of making lives easier, better, longer and richer, but such exuberant promise has to be realised with the sobering prospective downside of a world that is pervaded with AI, resulting in job losses/mass reskilling/shortened careers/early retirements, safety and security of devastated working neighbourhoods, prospects of increased marginalisation of less privileged sections of society, rising costs of quality healthcare and fruitful education, unabated birthrates, population underutilisation, higher percentage of elderly people requiring proper care, and so forth. Additionally, there is the little matter of assuming that there will be an amicable partnership between humans and AI without the latter getting any notions/ inclinations/compulsions of trying to dominate on account of its superior skills in certain areas with/without the assisted malevolent designs of fellow human beings trying to assert their own intelligence quotients. The optimist in me says that it will be delightfully complementary; the realist in me winks and says it wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be that easy, while the nagging pessimist in me wants to cherish the gift of humanity in the here and now while we can. Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s see what happens â&#x20AC;Ś Keep your fingers crossed! n Murad Salman Mirza is a Committed Organisational Architect, Positive Change Driver, Unrepentant Success Addict and a globally published author based in the United Arab Emirates.

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Skills planning for the

disruptive Fourth Industrial Revolution New skills for new jobs not yet thought of are what you need in your company. By Suzanne Hattingh

he world of work of 2020 and beyond will be significantly different from the workplace most of us know today. Therefore, it is crucial for business leaders to understand the major shifts to ensure that they have their skills planning and other strategies in place to survive the turbulence of the next five to 10 years. Similarly, the government, the Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs) and other policy makers must rethink the skills strategies that are, according to futurist Jacob Morgan, failing to prepare the workforce for the â&#x20AC;&#x153;exponential pace of change [that is] disrupting every industry in every country [and] impacting every aspect of how we work and how we live, creating threats and opportunitiesâ&#x20AC;?.Â

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Future world of work

The World Economic Forum (WEF) points out that “across all industries, there is clear evidence that the technologies that underpin the Fourth Industrial Revolution are having a major impact on businesses”. These disruptive technologies are no longer science fiction. Robots climb and maintain wind turbines, with nine robots replacing 140 workers. A 3D printer builds a footbridge using robotic arms and lasers without the help of human hands or concrete foundations. Ford is road testing driverless cars, and Singapore is the first country to have driverless taxis, using technology that will disrupt the transport industry. Technology has catapulted us into the Fourth Industrial Revolution, which the WEF describes as: “characterized by a fusion of technologies that is blurring the lines between the physical, digital, and biological spheres. When compared with previous industrial revolutions, the Fourth is evolving at an exponential rather than a linear pace. … these changes herald the transformation of entire systems of production, management, and governance. … business leaders and senior executives need to understand their changing environment, challenge the assumptions of their operating teams, and relentlessly and continuously innovate.” In South Africa, we will have to address the two main barriers – identified by the WEF – to adapting to these disruptions: • Insufficient understanding of disruptive changes (68%); and • A workforce strategy that is not aligned to innovation strategy (44%).

Skills development

Key questions that we need to consider in relation to skills development are:

disappear or change significantly by the time students graduate? 2. H ow do we prepare the workforce for multiple career changes that cut across occupational boundaries? 3. W hat skills sets will the workforce need to thrive in the ‘Age of Unreason’ with erratic change that no longer follows a predictable pattern? 4. W hat should we be teaching if what is taught becomes outdated within a year or two? 5. H ow do we equip people with the skills they will need to use technology that has not been conceptualised yet? 6. W hat assumptions about skills development are preventing us from preparing

1. How must we reconceptualise training for occupations if some occupations will

the workforce for a workplace exponentially disrupted by new technology?

Technology-driven changes

Disruptive technologies are already having a significant impact on the workplace. These changes will become widespread:

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• New jobs will emerge that we cannot now imagine; • Existing occupations will disappear or be significantly altered; • There will be fewer permanent employer-employee relationships as a large part of the workforce moves into short-duration jobs, requiring flexible and multiskilled workers; • With the end of one-job-for-a-lifetime, the workforce changes jobs more frequently, and moves comfortably across occupational boundaries; • More work will be done by cross-functional project teams working together in temporary relationships in virtual organisations; and • Fixed job descriptions will become obsolete and employees will be required to perform functions outside their former job descriptions. Are we training people for a world that no longer exists? We can scarcely argue with the predictions of Scott McLeod, Karl Fisch and other futurists:

“

We are currently preparing students for jobs that don’t yet exist, using technologies that haven’t been invented, in order to solve problems we don’t even know are problems yet. … The amount of new technical information is doubling every two years. By 2010 it [was] predicted to double every 72 hours. For students starting a four-year technical degree this means that half of what they learn in their first year of study will be outdated by their third year of study.” For more predictions, watch the video http://bit.ly/2gt2Nlm My main concerns about our training system are that: • many occupational qualifications are preparing the workforce for occupations that will not exist in five years’ time, or will be radically different; • many qualifications are outdated by the time the first cohort of students graduate; • the system is not equipping people with the skills they will need to succeed in the work environment that will be significantly transformed by disruptive technologies; • the SETA grants and public funding do not incentivise employers to support the kind of training that is essential to prepare the workforce for 2020 and beyond; • education and training primarily focuses on training people for jobs – not for work, and we are not creating enough entrepreneurs; and • the obsession with training for credits on the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) and points on the B-BBEE Scorecard means that training is not primarily focused on developing the skills needed to “relentlessly and continuously innovate”. hrfuture.net | page 18

Changes required in skills development system

We have to develop less cumbersome mechanisms for preparing the workforce for the future – either in addition to or in place of the current occupational qualifications model adopted by the Quality Council for Trades and Occupations (QCTO). Furthermore, the system must prepare the workforce to move more easily across occupations – rather than training them for specific occupations on the Organising Framework for Occupations (OFO), such as a Nurse (Aged Care) or a Nurse (Mental Health). Companies that want to survive and thrive in 2020 cannot adopt strategies that focus primarily on credits, SETA grants or B-BBEE points. The new workplace requires more short interventions that are conceptualised ‘on the run’ to develop the specific skills workers require to apply unfamiliar disruptive technologies to innovative projects. SETA funding priorities and discretionary grant structures must make provision for such skills interventions if the government and SETAs are serious about sector competitiveness, creating more work opportunities, investment, and economic growth. In addition, more funding and support must be provided to equip people to create their own work, instead of preparing them for the job market.

What are the new skills required in 2020?

The WEF predicts that more than 35% of the skills considered important in today’s workforce will have changed within five years. Some of the new skills that the Institute for the Future identifies as essential for the workplace of 2020 are:

• novel and adaptive thinking: proficiency in coming up with solutions and • • • • •

responses beyond those which are by rote or rule-based; computational thinking: the ability to translate vast amounts of data into abstract concepts and to understand data-based reasoning in order to make sense of this information; transdisciplinarity: literacy in and the ability to understand concepts across multiple disciplines; cognitive load management: “the ability to discriminate and filter information for importance, and to understand how to maximise cognitive functioning using a variety of tools and techniques”; virtual collaboration: the ability to work productively and drive engagement as a member of a virtual team; and technological literacy and technical entrepreneurial skills: the capacity for a new partnership with the new smart machines that will enter offices, factories and homes.

Employers, SETAs, government and policy makers must heed the warnings of the experts to review South Africa’s strategies for preparing the workforce for the Fourth Industrial Revolution. These reviews will have to initiate substantial changes to strategies and programmes to equip the workforce for the unpredictable and disruptive technology-driven world of work that we will be entering within the next five years. n Suzanne Hattingh is the Managing Director of Learning for Performance Improvement, www.learningroadmap.co.za, and a Quality Assurance Consultant at the University of Stellenbosch Business School: Executive Development.

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