Marr Bernard - Future Skills : The 20 Skills and Competencies Everyone Needs to Succeed in a Digital World

THE 20 SKILLS AND COMPETENCIES EVERYONE NEEDS TO SUCCEED IN A DIGITAL WORLD

BERNARD MARR

This edition first published 2022

Copyright 2022 by Bernard Marr. All rights reserved.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Marr, Bernard, author.

Title: Future skills : the 20 skills and competencies everyone needs to succeed in a digital world / Bernard Marr.

Description: Hoboken, NJ : Wiley, 2022. | Includes index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2022016664 (print) | LCCN 2022016665 (ebook) | ISBN 9781119870401 (cloth) | ISBN 9781119870425 (adobe pdf) | ISBN 9781119870418 (epub)

Subjects: LCSH: Technological literacy. | Workplace literacy.

Classification: LCC T65.3 .M34 2022 (print) | LCC T65.3 (ebook) | DDC 602.3dc23/eng/20220504

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022016664

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022016665

Cover Design: Wiley

To my beautiful wife Claire and our three amazing children Sophia, James and Oliver.

Technology is changing our world to such an extent that the majority of children in school today will do jobs that don't yet exist; a report by Dell and the Institute for the Future predicts that 85 percent of jobs that will be available in 2030 haven't been invented yet. It's a staggering prediction. But how realistic is it? In my opinion, it's not nearly as outlandish as it sounds. Just think about how much has changed in the last decade, particularly when it comes to social media, automation, and artificial intelligence (AI).

And this pace of change is only going to accelerate as we further enter into a new industrial revolution, the fourth industrial revolution. Just as with the previous industrial revolutions, this will change the work that humans do, as many jobs evolve, some jobs become obsolete, and new jobs emerge.

In other words, the skillset and experience required from the workforce will be very different in the future. So when we think about the essential skills for success, we need to consider not just the jobs that exist today, but the sorts of jobs that may exist in the future, in a world in which more and more jobs (and parts of jobs) are given over to machines.

I don't say this to fill you with fear or dread. This isn't a Robots are coming for our jobs. Be afraid type of book. Far from it. I believe the future of work is bright.

Building on the previous industrial revolution (which was driven by advances in computing), this fourth industrial revolution (driven by automation and connected technologies) will continue to fundamentally reshape the future of work. Almost every job is going to change as more intelligent AIs and robots share work with us.

But far from detaching us from our humanity, I believe this wave of new technologies will make work more human, not less. What can be automated will be automated, leaving humans to do the work that we're ultimately better suited totasks that rely on distinctly human skills like complex decision-making, creativity, empathy and emotional intelligence, critical thinking, and communication. These are the sorts of skills where humans outperform even the most intelligent machine. This is where we excel. And it's where the future of work lies. In more human, more fulfilling work.

On the whole, then, I see this reshaping of work as a positive thing for those of us who are already in the workforce, and for our children, who will do jobs that we can't even imagine. (After all, the previous industrial revolutions have made our lives better. There's no reason to expect any different this time around.) But this wave of transformation comes at a time when employers around the world are already struggling to close skills gaps and fill vacancies. The gap between the skills currently available within the workforce and the skills that businesses need in the fourth industrial revolution threatens to become a chasm. We must address this.

The people who will gracefully surf this wave of digital transformation will be those who have the right mix of essential future skills. Skills, then, will be a key differentiator of success. No big surprise there. But you might be surprised by some of the skills that will be most in demand.

When we talk about essential skills for this brave new digital world, many assume we're talking about tech skills, such as coding. In fact, thriving in the digital world isn't about having deep technical knowledgerather, it's about understanding the technologies underpinning this fourth industrial revolution and the impact that these technologies will have on the future of work. It's about understanding the relative strengths of both people and technology, and how we can capitalize on those strengths. Therefore, future skills lean much more towards softer skills than you might thinktowards skills that will enable humans to succeed in the digital world (not compete with machines for easily automated work). Of course, some jobs will require technical skills, but the majority of in-demand skills will be soft skillsbasically, the things that machines can't do.