There is no doubt we see the end of some types of jobs, but then, others are created. That’s why I invited Future Analyst Henrik Good Hovgaard from Future Navigator, to sit down to talk about the future job market, what we can expect from it and how to prepare for it.

If you want to know what you can do to prepare for the future job market, and how career branding can play an active role in your future career, then you don’t want to miss this interview!

Things are moving as fast as ever, and it’s not going to slow down. In many ways, the future job market is already here. Just a few months ago, a convoy of driverless trucks drove across Denmark from Padborg in Germany to Malmö in Sweden. Similar tests are going on in different places around the World.

What We Can Expect From The Future Job Market

Automation of our industries began in the late sixties and early seventies, and it has been going on ever since. Today many factories are fully automated, with only a handful of employees trained to master the high-tech machinery. And automation is not only something the industrial world has taken in.

Today journalists can be replaced by robots writing news stories based on what a computer program finds online and then put it all together into new articles, just like any other human journalist could.

Oxford University has made an extensive study on the future job market. It’s an exciting read for those of you who want to dig in and learn more about what’s in store. In the study, they estimate that around 47% of all US employment is highly vulnerable and at-risk to disappear within the next decade or two.

 

Our findings thus imply that as technology races ahead, low-skill workers will reallocate to tasks that are non-susceptible to computerisation – i.e., tasks requiring creative and social intelligence. For workers to win the race, however, they will have to acquire creative and social skills.

Oxford Study

 

Prepare For The Future Job Market

Future Analyst Henrik Good Hovgaard is Partner at Danish-based Future Navigator. Henrik has specialized in training individuals, companies, and organizations in the art of spotting future trends and create a dynamic vision based on it, to best prepare for the future.

Henrik is the creator of Future Graphic, Zooon, Trend Mapping, Blind Spotting, and much more. Download Future Navigators App ‘Trend Navigator‘ on your Phone, to train your futurist mindset and future opportunities.

With the fast-changing job market, I thought it would interesting to hear about some of the hard and soft trends that are emerging, so you and I can be prepared for the things the future job market will present to us.

Henrik Good Hovgaard On The Future Job Market

 

Old vs. New

Since the financial crisis, we’ve seen a tendency that more companies are hiring people in the shortest terms possible. Which makes sense from a business perspective, but as a result, job security for employees is part of history now.

 

We believe part-time jobs will continue to increase as business look for flexibility in managing costs and overall uncertainty.

Hireology

 

So to regain some of that security, employees need to rethink their situation and the possibilities that are out there today. And then come up with new ways of securing their income.

The industrial way of thinking and having just one income stream with that 9 to 5 job, is something the new technology/ knowledge age is challenging. We are seeing a lot more people doing freelance work, and the ways you can set yourself up to have diversified income streams are expanding rapidly.

With companies like Uber, websites like Fiverr, 99designs, udemy, and the expanding industry of VA’s (virtual assistants), there are now more ways than ever to create multiple income streams.

Today you can be a dog walker in the morning. Then during the day, you can create online courses, about something you’re passionate about, upload it to Udemy, and make money selling it while you sleep. And then you can drive an Uber cap in the evening. Those are just three ways of having a diversified income stream, and there’s much more.

With this way of thinking multiple income streams, you can end up earning more and not be as vulnerable, if should you lose one of your income streams.

Because of technology, we will also see a lot more digital nomads. People are working together online in teams from different places around the world. So today, you could choose to see the entire world as the place you go to work. It’s “only” a click away.

High-Tech to High-Touch

As technology is becoming more and more integrated into everything we do, our human and social need for interacting face-to-face, will be much more in demand in the future.

That’s why, according to Henrik Good Hovgaard and the Oxford Study, jobs that rely on people skills will be in high demand.

Jobs Disappear Others Are Created – Hire a Pro Cuddler

Jobs that will be in demand in the High-Touch category will be jobs like doctors, nurses, kindergarten/teachers/trainers, and most likely some new kind of jobs; we don’t even know of today. One thing that has been in the media within the last couple of months is professional cuddling. Who would have thought of that as a profession ten years ago?

If you’re single and don’t have someone to cuddle with on a Sunday, as you would with a partner, you hire a cuddler to get your need for intimacy covered. In case you’re curious to know more, visit thesnugglebuddies.com.

That’s just one example of a new kind of need, that has shown up because of the High-Tech living and the entire single-living situation that is on the rise.

Skills The Future Job Market Will Demand

I’ve already covered a little about having people skills as an area where there will be a demand in the future. But here’s a list of other skills you can start fine-tuning to prepare for the future job market as well.

Listen, Louder!

 

If we were supposed to talk more than we listen,
we would have two tongues and one ear.
– Mark Twain

 

A lot of people don’t listen with the intent of understanding other people. That’s because we’re schooled to listen with the intention of answering or defending ourselves. But when we do that, we tend not to hear what other people are saying.

That’s why listening louder is all about listening and giving people room to explain themselves and trying to understand, not only what they are saying, but also listen for the things not being said.

In the interview, we talked a lot about this particular skill. If you master this, then it can be used in a ton of ways to improve your future job opportunities. So give it a listen (if you haven’t already done it), because Henrik dropped some pretty great advice on this topic.

When listening to what other people are saying, you’ll also be better at spotting trends and creating the right solutions to suit the needs of others. But you need to learn to listen louder.