Are You Looking For a Job?

The era of a job for life is at an end as companies look for more part-time, freelance and contract workers. The average number of years worked by people with the same company has been reducing for the last two decades.

The reduction is driven by two main factors: a reduction in the long-term single career and an increase in short-term working.

Both factors indicate that companies see less value in long-term employees and greater value in short-term flexible contracts.

From an individual’s perspective the changes have created greater risk, more insecurity and less long-term individual and family benefits.

And so people are increasingly turning their attention to the type of skills they need to be successful in the new world of work.

In addition to the accepted need to have hard skills such as science, technology, engineering and maths there is an increased need to learn new and different skills.

These include the need to continuously learn on the job and have a strong sense of social and emotional intelligence when dealing with colleagues and clients.

They also include the need to be culturally and digitally aware, embrace an increasingly social and mobile world and the ability to make sense of large amounts of information and data on a continuous basis.

Companies are unsure of the type of jobs they will be recruiting for even a few years ahead and so increasingly look for people with flexible, social and mobile skills.

The changes taking place are happening at great speed and will continue to affect the workplace for both employer and employee.

As a result, the only way to ensure success is to take responsibility for your own learning and skills development.

The good news is that for those with the right skills and ability to keep learning there will be lots of opportunities and plenty of jobs.

SO, the traditional career is disappearing and in its place lies the need to realise that future career success will depend on our ability to learn new and different skills.

What do you think? Are you looking for a job? Get in touch we would love to hear your views contact Nick on 028 8224 9494 or via Twitter @nick_oec.