As technology continues to advance rapidly and robots are increasingly present in the workforce, what does this mean for U.S. workers? In a recent article for Industry Week, Adrienne Selko addresses the job market of the future.
Moving forward, jobs will increasingly require a different skill set. Why is this? Robots are taking over more and more of the rote and/or dangerous tasks, freeing up human laborers to focus on more creative tasks that require stronger problem-solving skills. This is a scary prospect for many workers who feel that they aren’t up to performing at this higher level. That said, many manufacturing companies are starting to put more focus on career path development that will allow less-skilled workers to acquire the skills they need.
This increased focus on in-house training is illustrated by successful apprenticeship-style programs around the world. Though many of these programs have been private up to this point, state and local agencies are starting to get involved as well. Policymakers can be slow to catch up to change, but they are indeed working on it.
In the even longer term, the author considers what impact these changes will have on education tracks and policies. For example, Germany’s method is to give children career aptitude tests at a young age to help set them on a track for career success—perhaps the U.S. will work something like this into its education system. It is impossible to know what, exactly, the future holds, but it is clear that big change is on the horizon.
For further details, click here to read the article in full.
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