More and more frequently, we encounter news, posts and comments about “the professions of the future”, “the top 10 in-demand jobs for the years to come”, “future work skills”, etc. as we travel down the jobseeker road.
Allow me to share with you something I read recently in a book about learning. This book makes a comparison between birds and humans. Nobody has to teach the birds to fly south or how to get where they are going, while we have to check calendars, maps and GPS devices. Birds instinctively know how to look after their young, while we need to consult books on childcare, ask for help on nappy changing, etc. Birds instinctively know how to build their homes, while we need to learn how to build walls, ceilings and/or pay someone else to do that work for us. We live in a constant state of beta.
Even so, we humans are the creatures that rule the world, we build enormous skyscrapers to their feeble nests, we learn to look after our children better day by day and the human race becomes stronger, taller and healthier generation after generation.
There are a few conclusions to be reached from this metaphor: we humans are flexible and adapt to our surroundings – traits that are increasingly more important in a person and key to all present and future job candidates.
European jobs are not disappearing, as is sometimes thought. In fact, there are even estimates that say there will be more jobs in 2020 – with a special emphasis on qualified positions in professions with a high demand for knowledge and skill.
Because one of the premises is you, companies will keep searching for and recruiting the best talent that will enable them to maintain their leadership status and because we have decided not to be birds. Never stop learning.
José Miguel Baeza
ACCIONA Corporate Training Department