Developing lifelong learning skills essential for career changers

With the days of employees staying with their employers for the long term becoming increasingly infrequent, the onus is on employees to become lifelong learners to prepare themselves for multiple career changes.

This is further reiterated with the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2023 , which states 40% of the score skills that employees have cultivated today will be disrupted by the rise of technology by 2027, and that reskilling and learning would need to be done every five years to update half the core skills of all employees in the workforce.

The World Economic Forum cited career coach Caroline Castrillon, who, in a recent article for Forbes, said that lifetime employment at a single job is largely a thing of the past Companies, she said, are looking for employees who are adaptable to change, with transferable skills that will have people working outside their comfort zone.

READ: Lifelong learning key for success of hybrid work

Potential employees are also expected to be equipped with social-emotional skills that emphasise initiative and continuous learning such as analytical and creative thinking, resilience, empathy, active listening, mentorship and teaching, the World Economic Forum added.

The change in career paths for many employees has also stemmed from a shift in priorities. While many employees are satisfied with their current career, more than 80% are re-evaluating their current job fits with their personal schedule and 77% looking for career flexibility, according to the latest global Workmonitor survey by Randstad.