In today’s interconnected global economy with the capabilities of technology and machines exponentially increasing, how can we structure education to arm students with the skills they need?  

Conversations and ideas around robots replacing humans indicate the human element will remain necessary, but our functions and skills will be different. You may be familiar with the statistic, “85% of jobs that exist in 2030 haven’t been invented yet,” and that those jobs will seriously challenge traditional learning establishments. 

85% of jobs in 2030 haven’t been invented yet: myth or fact? 

According to educator Derek Newton, reporting for Forbes, “The idea that any significant portion of today’s students will take jobs that don’t exist yet is a myth. Since 2030 is just 12 years away, the idea that 85% of jobs taken by today’s learners will be new should be laughable.” 

Newton argues that, while this may come as a shock particularly to those in law school or studying nursing, the 85% statistic has no strong foundation. 

“What is real is that schools in general and colleges in particular are doing an outstanding job of preparing students for careers. And to the extent that any future jobs are in transition or under development, schools and students alike are wise to invest in foundations of a good education, the soft skills of the liberal arts such as critical reading, communication, creativity and collaboration. Actual research does show that those skills are essentially future-proof, even in tech jobs and even when 196% of all jobs are completely new next year.” 

What will the future of work look like? 

Dell’s report, The next era of human-machine partnership: emerging technologies’ impact on society and work in 2030, anticipates a global gig economy, where, “companies will set out tasks to be completed, then use information technology to match the task with the people and technology that have the necessary skills, anywhere in the world. Instead of expecting workers to bear the brunt of finding work, work will compete for the best resource to complete the job.” 

“Businesses will need to manage this shift carefully. Upon first glance, any reduction in full-time employment could seem perilous for the economic stability of individuals and families. But the shift in the nature of work will unleash novel opportunities for a diverse pool of truly global talent.”

With respect to changing skill requirements, Chairman and director for McKinsey Global Institute James Manyika asserts 51% of today’s activities can be automated, but with an important caveat. 

“Saying that 51 per cent of activities are relatively easy to automate does not say that 51 per cent of jobs are going to go away. The job question is a very different one, because we know that any one job consists of 20 or 30 different kinds of activities, aggregated into that job.

When you then ask the question of how many jobs, occupations, have a fair share, majority, or 90 per cent or 100 per cent of their activities that are easy to automate, you get a much smaller number—5 per cent of occupations.

“We’re probably going to have more jobs change than disappear.” 

“But then, what you also see is a host of other occupations—by our count 60 per cent of occupations—that have about a third of their constituent activities that are easy to automate. That tells you that we’re probably going to have more jobs change than disappear.” 

Automation: a key area of focus 

Others share different perspectives. EdSurge spoke with Karen Cator, CEO of Digital Promise and former director of the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Educational Technology, about the key area educators need to focus on. 

In addition to her experience as a classroom teacher, Cator has been a pioneer and champion of digital learning. Of all the issues and trends in tech, she believes automation is one of the most pressing—and one that all educators should be thinking about.

“Advanced manufacturing is definitely one area that automation is kind of taking over. Another interesting area is healthcare. If we think about the role of artificial intelligence being able to better diagnose what’s happening—and help doctors really understand what’s happening and connect the dots that they may not have just connected on their own—that’s incredibly helpful. We hear about machines being able to read x-rays. But the machine reader is not going to be able to present those results with empathy. We think a lot in this whole world of automation and artificial intelligence about the differences between what the machines will be able to do and what is uniquely human,” said Cator. 

Conversations reveal differences in opinion between those who believe automation will have phased out many career pathos available today, and others who believe its all just noise. According to EdSurge, research indicates there are risks by not taking automation seriously. 

“There are a lot of things that we know that people need, but now it’s really an imperative,” says Cator. “The world is changing. The actual jobs that will be available are ones that you do need a different kind of education for, and that’s what we need to pay attention to.” 

Are educators responsible? 

Cator suggests it’s unfair to expect educators to do things that haven’t been part of their own learning experience. However, she proposes solutions such as providing teachers with coaches, and harnessing open-source learning and creating online learning communities. 

What skills will we need? 

Many thought leaders believe the future looks human; the biggest leaps in productivity, creativity and innovation in the immediate future will come from harnessing human potential.

So what skills do we need and how can we provide students with the best foundation for our ever-evolving workplaces? Key skills according to The World Economic Forum, include: 

• Complex problem solving
• Critical thinking
• Creativity
• People management
• Coordinating with other
• Emotional intelligence
• Judgement and decision making
• Service orientation
• Negotiation
• Cognitive flexibility
• Learning how to learn
• Speed reading and reading intelligently
• Analysing information
• Spotting patterns and trends
• Communicating – written and oral
• Understanding and leveraging technology
• Cultural awareness and sensitivity.

Where to from here? 

According to Dell’s report, The next era of human-machine partnership: emerging technologies’ impact on society and work in 2030, the negative scenarios of machines taking people’s jobs and people becoming insignificant

“We don’t believe that to be true,” says Dell’s senior VP of Marketing Gaurav Chand. “And the research does not believe that to be true. Instead, the notion is that the tasks that we are used to doing today are going to be replaced by tasks of the future, some of which we know, and some of which we have yet to discover.”

The report quotes Jordan Howard, Social Good Strategist and Executive Director of GenYNot, who states, “What if we could solve [problems] by pairing up more closely with machines and using the mass of data they provide to make breakthroughs at speed? As a team, we can aim higher, dream bigger, and accomplish more.”

“If we engage in the hard work of empowering human-machine partnerships to succeed, their impact on society will enrich us all.” 

It may be impossible to prepare students for the jobs ahead. But we can create structures where students and workers are constantly educated and developed to stay relevant in their jobs.