How to Raise Kids for Jobs That Don’t Exist Yet

What is the one thing they have in common? These are all occupations that didn’t exist a decade ago. With the rapidly accelerating innovations in technology, we can expect some drastic changes in the job market. New jobs are quickly replacing the old ones. A report (2016) by the World Economic Forum stated that around 65% of the kids in primary schools today will end up in jobs that have not even been invented yet.

Too often, we disregard the hobbies and passions of our kids and think of these activities as totally unproductive or an unconventional behavior. Now, we may not realize it at the time but our kids might just be practicing the skills needed for jobs in the future. And the truth is – we can’t just prepare the kids for specific kinds of jobs anymore. We have to enable them to readjust and get accustomed to the emergence of any new career options.

So how do we as parents prepare our kids for careers that don’t exist yet? Since we can’t predict what the new jobs will be, it’s better to focus on the expertise needed. Kids should hone a certain set of skills that will come in handy for future jobs. Here’s how you can contribute:

• Encourage your child to look for challenges to solve: While the occupations and careers we focus on might transform, the challenges that we are trying to overcome will remain. New challenges to undertake will originate as our point of view on specific matters diversifies.
• Promote learning and adaptability: Place emphasis on how learning is a lifelong quest while you fuel their curiosity by encouraging them to try new things. It is unlikely that workers in the future will be able to get by on an individual skill for an occupation that will last a lifetime. This is where the ability to accept change will turn out to be useful. Kids will need to learn to adapt and align their skills with the latest opportunities.
• Cultivate self-awareness: The process of pondering upon principles, strengths, personality and passions will help build roots to anchor and accelerate children on their career path. Not only will this mindful reflection allow kids to better withstand changes in their surroundings but it will also help them develop insight into how they can lead more meaningful lives at work.
• Foster leadership: It is important to cultivate skills like decision-making, communication, setting goals, and negotiation. As always, learning starts at home and being a good role model to your kids is a great idea. Aside from that, you can encourage them to join activities like scouting troops, student council, and a variety of games and sports.
• Entrepreneurial skills & creativity: The future demands people, who can think for themselves, pursue their passion and take risks. As parents, we need to enhance and retain the creativity and entrepreneurial talent of our children in order for them to succeed. At present, taking a new path and becoming your own boss is the most coveted career choice.
• Teach your children teamwork and collaboration: As work in the future will become multifaceted, it will require new types of teamwork including digital collaboration. In order to team up with workers around the globe, kids will need to learn technical and communication skills. They will also need to become aware of the customs and traditions of other cultures. 
• Encourage your kids to develop a digital skill set: From medical science to industrial work and from services to building structures, technology is stirring just about ever profession on earth. It is predicted that around 90% of jobs will soon have digital components and require new skills. It is advisable for your children to learn ‘coding’ as it strengthens the problem-solving skills, logical thinking and more.

No doubt it is impossible to track changes due to innovation in technology, but we can prepare our kids for the transformations that are likely to occur in the future. It may seem like a daunting task at first, but by helping them develop these essential skills you are setting them up to succeed in an ever-changing job market.

By Edarabia.com

App Developer, Digital Artist, Social Media Manager, SEO Specialist, Blogger, and Virtual Assistant.