When you stop learning your career starts Dying

Am I being melodramatic? Maybe, but the assumption that once we have acquired a set of skills, preferably though studying for three or four years, we are set for life is increasingly being questioned. The last 3 years have shown us how quickly the world of work can change and the rapid skills development that was required to just be able to keep on meeting the requirements of our current jobs.

The old model where we chose a career and then got entry to that career through a few years of focused study was based on an assumption that the career you have chosen will remain unchanged for the rest of your life. This assumption is no longer true. The potential of the 4th Industrial Revolution (4th IR) disrupting careers and jobs has been widely debated over the past few years. The last eight months has seen the rapid and wide spread adoption of components of the 4^th IR. We are seeing the acceleration of automation, increased use of robots, drone deliveries, increased use of algorithms etc. The 4th IR has been fast tracked and it will not slow down. According to the World Economic Forum one third of all jobs will be transformed over the next 10 years.

So where does this leave us. We are rapidly moving towards an employment reality where our skills rather than our qualifications will determine the success of our careers. We need to understand that over our work lifetime we will most likely have not only multiple jobs but multiple careers and that traditional qualifications does not necessary prepare us for this new reality.

This means that increasingly the concept of lifelong learning has become a survival strategy. Employers are increasingly realising that they need to invest in developing inhouse training programmes to ensure that employees have access to the required skills e.g. the FPD SEED and management development programmes while coaching and mentorship programmes have shifted from nice to have, to need to have programmes.

However, in the final analysis it will still be up to us as individuals, to not only grasp such in-company opportunities, but also to actively seek out external opportunities.

You have to be the captain of your own destiny so:

• Ensure that you understand what skills will best position you for the future. Read up on this subject. A good source to stay abreast of the current thinking around the future of work is the World Economic Forum I referenced earlier, they regularly release a Future of Jobs Report.
• Identify where you can get these skills at low or no cost. There are many good quality free courses available online.
• Draft your own personal development plan for the next year.
• Read widely, I cannot over-emphasize the importance of reading as a skills development tool.
• Set aside a few hours per week to acquiring new skills and understanding.

Lifelong learning is a survival habit we all need to cultivate. Research shows that it takes between 22 to 66 days to develop a new habit, so the sooner you start the easier it will become. Make lifelong learning your new habit. Learning new things is extremely rewarding at a personal and professional level. If you embrace it you will also see the benefits in your career.

Staff Writer