CIO opinion
“
WHAT’S
IMPORTANT FOR
US IN SOUTH
AFRICA, AND THE
CONTINENT, IS
TO REALISE THAT
THERE IS PLENTY
OF WORK THAT
ONLY HUMANS
CAN DO.
literacy skills, and providing robust technical
and vocational education and training
(TVET). This will take significant intent not
only from a policy point of view, but also the
financial means to fund this.
None of this will happen overnight. So, what
can we, as individuals and businesspeople,
do in the meantime? A good start would be
to realise that the old models of learning
and work are broken. Jenny Dearborn, SAP’s
Global Head of Learning, talks about how
the old approach to learning and work was
generally a three-stage life that consisted
largely of learn-work-retire.
alone, 39% of core skills required across
all occupations will be different by 2020
compared to what was needed to perform
those roles in 2015.
Today, we live in what Dearborn calls the
multi-stage life, which includes numerous
phases of learn-work-change-learn-work. And
where before, the learning was often by rote,
because information was finite, learning
now is all about critical thinking, complex
problem-solving, creativity and innovation
and even the ability to un-learn what you
have learned before. This is a huge wake-up call to companies to
invest meaningfully in on-the-job training to
keep their people – and themselves – relevant
in this new digital age. There’s no doubt
that more learning will need to take place
in the workplace, and greater private sector
involvement is needed. As employers, we must
start working closely with schools, universities
and even non-formal education to provide
learning opportunities to our workers.
Helping instill this culture of lifelong learning,
including the provision of adult training and
upskilling infrastructure, is something that
all companies can do, starting now. The
research is clear – even if jobs are stable
or growing, they are going through major
changes to their skills profile. WEF’s Future
of Jobs analysis found that, in South Africa We can also drive a far stronger focus on the
so-called ‘soft skills’, which is often used as a
slightly dismissive term in the workplace. The
core skills needed in today’s workplace are
active listening, speaking, and critical thinking.
A quick look at the WEF’s 21st Century skills
required for the future of work chart bears this
out; as much as we need literacy, numeracy
46
INTELLIGENTCIO
and IT skills to make sense of the modern
world of work, we also need innately human
skills like communication and collaboration.
The good news is that not only can these be
taught – but they can be taught within the
work environment.
It sounds almost counter-intuitive, but to
be successful in the Digital Age, businesses
are going to have to go back to what has
always made them strong – their people.
Everyone can buy AI, build data warehouses
and automate every process in sight.
The companies that will stand out will be
those that focus on the things that can’t
be duplicated by AI or machine learning –
uniquely human skills.
I have no doubt that the future will not
be humans or robots – it will be humans
and robots, working side by side. For us, as
businesspeople and children of the African
continent, we’re on the brink of a major
opportunity. We just have to grasp it. n
www.intelligentcio.com