Future Of Work South Africa And 15 Important FutureFit Skills Everyone Needs

The future of work South Africa is changing right before our eyes. As business owners or employees, we need to rise to the challenge of learning what is needed to stay relevant in the future world of work.

Clearly, just like the rest of the world, our working environment is going to look very different.

Even conservative estimates predict that in the coming decade, automation and artificial intelligence (AI) systems will lead to massive job losses. It’s not that they are going to replace people entirely, but they will likely have a profound effect on how work is done, in most industries.

Certain skills in the future of work South Africa are becoming obsolete which means you must stay relevant. All companies and individuals need to get new skills quickly.

In this article, we will look at what is changing and what skills you’ll need. We cover:

• Estimates of job losses that might happen in South Africa due to automation.
• The top 15 future skills identified as necessary by FutureFit Academy.
• Important skills shortages and the jobs most at risk in South Africa.
• How the future of work South Africa is evolving, including short-term projects and moving away from traditional working offices.
• The kinds of skills South Africans will need to adapt to adjust to the future of work South Africa.
• What we offer at FutureFit Academy and how our courses will give you an edge in these changing times.

The Future Of Work South Africa And What The Estimates Are

According to a recent report by Accenture, nearly 1 in 10 jobs is at risk of automation in countries that are members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Most OECD members have advanced economies.

However, this is a significant adjustment for less wealthy countries like South Africa. In areas where significant unemployment and skill shortages already exist, the impact of innovative technologies may be greater. This will have a serious impact on the future of work South Africa.

According to Dr. Roze Phillips of Accenture Consulting in Africa, 35% of all jobs in South Africa – close to 5.7 million jobs – are at risk of being lost due to automation by 2025. That’s just seven years away.

We encourage you to be motivated by these changes by upskilling your abilities quickly.

Digitally Maturing Enterprises

It is no easy task preparing for a digital future because it means developing digital capabilities in which a company’s activities, people, culture, and structure are coordinated and aligned toward a set of organisational goals.

However, most companies are constrained by a lack of resources, a lack of talent, and the pull of other priorities. This leaves executives to manage digital initiatives that either take the form of projects or are limited to activities within a given division, function, or channel.

In the future of work South Africa there are companies transcending this and achieving digital capabilities that cut across the enterprise. Research states that only 90% of digitally maturing businesses are integrating their digital strategy with the company’s overall strategy.

These are companies where digital technology has transformed processes, talent engagement, and business models. Managers in these digitally maturing companies are much more likely to believe that they are adequately preparing for the industry disruptions they anticipate arising from digital trends.

Give Opportunities To Senior Executives

Research shows that companies who give their senior executives and managers the resources and opportunities to develop themselves in a digital environment are more likely to retain their talent.

Navigating digital business is complicated which is why companies need to embrace what is called, digital congruence.

This is a term used to describe culture, people, structure, and tasks that align with each other. It also includes company strategy and the challenges of a constantly changing digital landscape.

The future of work South Africa requires companies to have an adaptable, flexible, growth mindset. Therefore, conservative and hierarchical organisations filled with energetic entrepreneurs will not be able to harness drive and energy.

Similarly, a company with a flat and nimble structure may still struggle if its culture fears risk. When culture, people, structure, and tasks are coordinated the businesses can move forward successfully and confidently.

FutureFit Academy: Top 15 Skills Of 2022

FutureFit Academy recommends the top 15 skills for the future of work South Africa that will be in demand in the next five years or so. Our recommendations are based on the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report for 2020.

The report estimates that 50% of workers will need reskilling by 2025. 40% of workers’ core skills are expected to change in the next five years.

The Top 10 Skills Of 2025 Are:

• Analytical thinking and innovation.
• Active learning and learning strategies.
• Complex problem-solving.
• Critical thinking and analysis.
• Creativity, originality, and initiative.
• Leadership and social influence.
• Technology use, monitoring, and control.
• Technology design and programming.
• Resilience, stress tolerance, and flexibility.
• Reason, problem-solving, and ideation.

FutureFit’s Top 15 Skills

There are more than 3 million search results when you Google the future of work South Africa. There are hundreds of studies communicating the “top skills for the future of work”.

Usually, there is no definitive list of what these skills are. However, extensive research and years of consultation with local and global corporates and business schools have led us to formulate the below essential FutureFit skills.

We use the FutureFit Index to assess the readiness of these skills and supply integrated learning to ensure their full development.

1. Curiosity

The desire to know more about something or someone in the future of work South Africa. The willingness to seek out and embrace the unknown.

2. Dealing With Paradox

The ability to deal with seemingly opposing or contradictory perspectives. It is the ability to think “both/and” instead of “either/or” in the future of work South Africa.

3. Tolerance Of Ambiguity

The degree to which an individual is comfortable with uncertainty, unpredictability, conflicting directions, and multiple demands.

4. Learning Agility

The ability and willingness to learn from experience and use those lessons to perform effectively in new and different situations in the future of work South Africa.

5. Growth Mindset

This is having the mindset that we can learn and develop talents through challenging work, good strategies, and input from others.

6. Design Thinking

The process and ideology that is concerned with solving complex problems in a highly user-centric way to help you deal with the future of work South Africa.

7. Sensemaking

Sensemaking refers to how we structure the unknown to be able to act.

8. Creating Clarity

Creating clarity: Visioning and mobilising are about defining shared values and engaging people in positive action.

9. Adaptability

Having ready access to diverse ways of thinking enables leaders to shift and experiment as things change in the future of work South Africa.

10. Cultural Adaptability

An individual’s willingness and ability to adapt their manner of communicating, motivating, and managing, across cultures.

11. Virtual Collaboration

Collaboration between dispersed team members is conducted via technology-mediated communication in the future of work South Africa.

12. Change Resilience

Being able to adapt well and bounce back quickly in times of stress and constant change.

13. Resourcefulness

The ability and creativity to cope with difficulties in the future of work South Africa. It is about the ability to deal resourcefully with difficult problems.

14. Influence Without Authority

Getting others to willingly cooperate and engage, rather than following directives because of your positional authority.

15. Connectedness

The ability to relate to others encourages and brings out their highest potential.

In the future of work South Africa, now is the time to develop your potential. Know that long–term job relevance and efficiency are no longer guaranteed.

That is why it is imperative that you develop the skills required to deliver indispensable value through our FutureFit courses and skills-building programmes.

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