Preparing for an Uncertain Future

Preparing for an Uncertain Future

~ Gwilda Wiyaka ~

There used to be a fairly effective formula for education, and preparation to enter the workforce. One would start by researching what was within one’s aptitude and budget. Then select the careers that made the most money, choose the least of the evils, and get as much education as could be afforded to compete for the position.

Now, as we find ourselves in times of rapid disruption and change, this approach is increasingly ineffective. What is available and lucrative today is often obsolete, or taken over by computers, before one has finished training for the position.

It would appear we need a new formula, as everything is in a state of flux, while we evolve from one reality to the next, leaving the future uncertain.

Where can we find guidance when the old formulas fail? What is the future of the workplace? Where can we find education for the future? Is anything we choose to do destined to become obsolete, as technology advances, replacing human workers?

Our guest, Heather McGowan, may have some useful guidance for us. Heather is an innovation strategist, internationally known speaker, thought leader and author of “Disrupt Together: How Teams Consistently Innovate.” McGowan prepares leaders to most-effectively react to rapid and disruptive changes in education, work, and society. Recognizing that business innovation begins with education, specifically learning faster than your competition, she has worked with university presidents and corporations to prepare their people for jobs that do not yet exist. She was the strategic architect of the Kanbar College of Design, Engineering, and Commerce at Philadelphia University, the first undergraduate college explicitly focused on innovation. At Becker College, she crafted the Agile Mindset learning framework used to prepare students to work in an uncertain future.

Her website: futureislearning.com

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