In the past decade, technology has heralded the development of new career paths in the fields of social media, 3D animation, augmented reality, mobile apps development and more.

Rapid changes are happening in the job landscape and the key to riding the wave is to be flexible, adaptable and ensure we keep upgrading our knowledge and skills to stay relevant.

Can we predict new occupations and careers with any level of accuracy? Perhaps not, but we can identify emerging industries which will have high demand for workers, now and in the future. The focus will be on food and beverage, creative, information technology, healthcare/social services, logistics, and (precision) engineering industries; to address the challenges of a slowing economy, technological disruptions, and greying population.

The impact of this changing career landscape could mean several things – increasing part-time employment, continual training and upgrading of skills, horizontal (rather than upward) career development, more small business start-ups, increased opportunities for self-employment, and more. What does this mean for graduates ready to enter the workforce? This might call for a shift in their mindset, a change in work patterns, and even a change in perception of what they expect a career or occupation to be.

When we think about a career now, it should be in terms of a lifelong journey rather than a destination, and lifelong learning should be a significant part in of it. There are several ways for graduates, even working professionals to future-proof their careers. These include developing a range of transferable skills, pursuing higher / tertiary education with a focus on developing skills mastery, reading widely to increase your knowledge, building and maintaining a good professional / social network to tap on for opportunities, and getting a mentor or coach for career growth and success.

Skills for the Future
In the near future, employers will be seeking graduates with different or enhanced skill sets than they do today. You might then ask, what skills are needed for graduates to be future-ready?

1. Creativity & Problem-Solving Skills: We work in a business and job landscape that is ever more changing and volatile. The nature of work has changed vastly over the past decade alone, impacted by globalization and technology. Today’s reality includes digitalization, border less business and collaborations, remote working, and leaner and more agile organisations, to name a few.

A quality international education builds a sound foundation for the future, placing a graduate in an advantageous position to successfully meet challenges in the workplace and excel in their careers

2. Flexibility & Adaptability: The increasing complexity of work requires workers to be nimble. Being highly flexible and adaptable to changing or evolving work requirements will therefore be the key to success in the workplace, today and tomorrow.

3. Digital Skills: Digital literacy or the ability to utilise information and data, and share and create content, will continue to play an important role as consumers turn more and more to online sources for information and buying decisions. Using social media to market a business and interact with customers, employing search engine optimisation and search engine marketing for business growth are all part and parcel of business essentials today.

4.Collaborative & Social Skills: Globalisation has amplified the need for collaboration across countries and regions, and shrunk cultural boundaries as people move around the globe seeking opportunities. We thus need to understand the dynamics of long distance collaboration, impact of cross-cultural interactions, and how to utilise technology to communicate with others around the world. This is something that no amount of automation or robots can do.

5. People & Leadership Skills: Enhanced leadership and people skills will be needed to manage an increasingly diverse, and remote or virtual workforce. Leaders need to engage and be flexible and those who can promote change in the workplace will be highly valued in this changing world.

The above skill sets are by no means exhaustive and we can expect additional skills to be required as the world continues to evolve.

Building a Sound Foundation
Education bridges students with the real world. A quality international education builds a sound foundation for the future, placing a graduate in an advantageous position to successfully meet challenges in the workplace and excel in their careers. There are many international education options open to students today. Closer to India, students can pursue internationally-accredited qualifications in private education institutes in Singapore, a country recognised for its strong brand of education.

A quality education and commitment to lifelong learning will provide graduates with a sound foundation to build their career success upon. Paired with continual development and enhancement of skills needed in the workplace, now and in the future, will ensure graduates can sustain professional growth and achieve career success.