Are Parents & Schools Failing Our Children?

Future Work Skills for 2020

By Shlomo   Maital    

         Future

                future skills                 

TEN KEY FUTURE SKILLS

  I have a strong feeling that both we parents and the schools are letting  kids down, by not preparing them properly for the future – for acquiring the key skills they will need to change the world.   A study by the Institute for the Future (Univ. of Phoenix, 2011) uses a ‘signals’ methodology (a new product, practice, market, policy or technology, in one locale, that has bigger implications globally) to identify the ten key skills for the future workforce.  Here is the list, and the definition of each.  Check whether your kids’ schools are helping develop these skills, and whether you, as parents, are too.  If you get less than 6 out of 10 …you (and the schools) flunk.  Note how many of these skills involve creative problem-solving. 

1. Sense-making (ability to determine the deeper meaning or significance of what is being expressed).    1

2.  Social intelligence (ability to connect to others in a deep and direct way) 1

3. Novel and adaptive thinking (proficiency at thinking and coming up with solutions nad responses beyond what is rule-based or rote-based)

4.  Cross-cultural competency (ability to operate in different cultural settings) 1

5. Computational thinking (ability to translate vast amounts of data into abstract concepts1

6. New-media literacy (ability to critically assess and develop content that uses new media forms, and leverage them 1

7. Transdisciplinarity (literacy in and ability to understand concepts across multiple disciplines) 1

8. Design mindset (ability to represent and develop tasks and work processes for desired outcomes) 1

9. Cognitive load management (ability to discriminate and filter information for importance, maximize cognitive functioning) 1

10. Virtual collaboration (ability to work productively, drive engagement, and demonstrate presence as a member of a virtual team). 1