Learning to unlearn in order to relearn will be more important than to think about a particular profession, which will tend to change and will no longer be configured as we know them.

By Martín Padulla

If you are asking this to yourself and you live in Latin America, you are probably part of the 50% of people aged from 18 to 20 years old who graduate from high school.

To be realistic, if you were lucky enough to be raised at a home that does not endure profound economic needs, then you are among the 7 out of 10 youngsters who graduate from high school. However, if economic difficulties have been a constant problem in your life, you are among the 3 out of 10 youngsters that, just like you, completed high school, which is a major achievement. You must know that, even though you have taken a major step forward, you will probably face serious problems to access the labour market, as the knowledge you have gained is different to the knowledge the labour market demands and, most importantly, will demand.

If you still have not completed secondary education, you cannot waste any more time. You need to focus on finishing this necessary, though not sufficient, stage of your life. The new business models that drive the economy are based on knowledge. Considering that education has always been the key factor to achieve inclusion and upward mobility, its role has become more important than ever in this period of history.

If you are among the 20 million of youngsters in the region who are neither in employment, education or training, it is key that you start asking yourself this question as soon as possible, as it will enable you to work, develop, and plan your future in the society you live in.

You have probably asked your parents or an older relative what is the best degree to study. However, you must understand that it is not possible to predict what degrees or professions will have the highest levels of employability using categories from the past.

The problem is that you have to make these decisions during an inflection point of history, the kind of moment that transforms an era of changes into a change of an era. We are amidst the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and this is vertiginously changing the way we live, relate and work. We understand some things, but there are lots of things we ignore. You will have to work with robots! Are you ready?

The major disruption we are facing is that social interaction at work will not only involve humans, but will take place between human intelligence and artificial intelligence.

This situation demands learning new skills, as well as learning to unlearn in order to relearn during your entire lifetime. It is key that you acquire or strengthen your knowledge on science, mathematics, engineering and technology. A large share of the jobs being created are linked to technology and companies cannot find candidates with proper knowledge on this field. Despite the fact that you may not really like technology, it is important that you learn to program; if you do like technology, then you have a whole world to discover.

Work is changing. Your colleagues may be located in different countries and you must be able to communicate with them. It is key that you master the English language, which shall enable you to communicate and become a citizen of the world. Work will also be mobile, and your career will probably take you to different places and cultures.

Did you know that socioemotional skills can be learned? And that they can also be trained? These are essentially human skills and, in addition, the most difficult to be replicated by robotics and artificial intelligence. We will experiment deeper changes in the next 20 years than the ones we experienced during the past 200 years. Therefore, it is important to learn to think, solve problems, work in teams, collaborate, be creative, and overcome adversities tolerating frustration. You will have to be capable of adapting, keeping active and curious, and being resilient.

Did you know there are massive online open courses? These are courses that everyone can access. Many of the platforms that provide these courses are supported by internationally prestigious universities and they address a wide variety of topics and issues.

You will probably be lucky enough to work in areas that suit your interests and way of thinking. Labour markets tend to be more flexible, dynamic and modern as they are a precondition to develop the jobs of the future. Our countries are producing key changes to become part of the future of work. The 4.0 jobs are been distributed throughout the world, and these are the jobs that will enable you to develop.

If you analyse history you will realize that every time there was an inflection point such as the one we are living, in the end more people were included into the labour market. And even though it is true that more people got a job, it is also true that they needed to use different skills and competences to the ones being used during the previous period. This Fourth Industrial Revolution will not be the exception: the current employment crisis comes along a true revolution of work.

Different forms of work that include the possibility of starting your own project, will allow you to pick according to your goals and interests during the different stages of your life. Your career will be completely different to your parents’ career; you must understand education and labour as part of the same process and learn to enjoy this dynamic that will probably keep you young forever.

About Martin Padulla

Founder and Managing Director of staffingamericalatina. Martin Padulla is Sociologist (USAL), MBA (UCA) and labour markets expert. He published “Flexible Work in South America” and “Regulatory framework for private employment agencies in Latin America” two books about the new realities of work in Latin America.

Follow Martín Padulla on Twitter: @MartinPadulla

mpadulla@staffingamericalatina.com

About staffingamericalatina

It is the unique independent digital media specialized in Latin American´s labour markets.

Produce and spread contents, researches and developments about issues such us Employability, Youth Employment, Training for Employment, Decent Work, Private Employment Agencies, Active policies for employment, Teleworking, Public and private actions for the creation of decent work, Green Jobs and Corporate Social Responsibility.

It is the meeting point for companies, providers, candidates, service´s companies, academics and independent professionals of Latin America.

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