The reality of today’s economy is that it is transforming from an industrial economy to a digital economy, and it is happening at an accelerated rate.
Right now, there are 5.6 million jobs that are available, but employers can’t find people with the right skills to fill them. This employability gap shows there is a need for educational institutions and employers to band together to train people in the skills for these jobs of the future.
In order for this to work long-term, it’s going to take an understanding not only from those providing the necessary skills, but from those learning them as well. An understanding that once you learn the skills needed for your job now, that education most likely won’t stop there. At the pace technology is changing, employees are going to have to keep learning and evolving their skills in order to remain a life-long employee.
Related: Thomas Friedman’s Guide to Thriving in an Accelerated Workforce
The idea of becoming a life-long learner can seem intimidating to workers who have done the same job their whole life and it’s all they know. But as author and Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress Ulrich Boser explains in his interview with The Atlantic and in his new book, Learn Better, there are ways people can boost their memories and skill sets even in their later years.
