For the past few months, I have been writing about the 10 skills needed for future jobs, as reported by the World Economic Forum. The Fourth Industrial Revolution: A Davos Reader
I have some of the skills already, but it doesn’t hurt to hone those 10 skills. I've aligned my Read the World Extreme Reading Challenge with the 10 skills, to morph it into the Strategic Reading Challenge.
I started to participate in the Read the World Extreme Reading Challenge in December 2015, so I’m on the homestretch now to completing it. Therefore, I won’t officially start the Strategic Reading Challenge for another month. It’s important to complete the things you start before jumping to the next new thing. I’m very close to the finish line.
Join the Strategic Reading Challenge!
In the newly created Strategic Reading Challenge, I recommend that people participate in groups if possible. In the group, you’ll read specific books, to learn the 10 main employability skills. But you’ll be able to discuss the books, as well as apply the new skills as you learn them. I have been researching appropriate books to buy to read. I plan to read print books, since I find it easier to interact with the words on the page.
I plan to buy the books, and not borrow them from the library, since I’m going to be marking them up. But what I’m also doing, is taking some courses as well. There are many good free courses online. I want a solid foundation for each skill, so that I can build on them. I’ll be blogging about my experiences, so that you may learn from them. I want to set the proper example for you, as we learn the 10 skills together to thrive in the future. When you think about it, 2020 is not very far away.
I want to mention that the skills needed for future jobs will always be changing. But if you have a solid process for learning any new skill, you have nothing to worry about. That’s why learning to learn is so important. Although I’ll be officially starting the Strategic Reading Challenge in about a month, to give me enough time to complete the current reading challenge, I’m starting off with a few courses that I found online. Taking the courses will help me to get at the core ideas for each of the 10 skills. I will better understand the structure of each subject (each skill is a subject to master).
All images in the post are clickable!
Courses to Take to Learn 10 Skills Needed for Future Jobs
Effective Problem-Solving and Decision-Making
On the Coursera platform, I registered for Effective Problem-Solving and Decision-Making, which is offered by University of California, Irvine. The course is free, but if you want your quizzes graded, you have to pay US$46. The course is also a part of a certificate program – Career Success. I didn’t pay for the course because I didn’t think it was necessary for my situation. Your choice may be different.
Effective Problem-Solving and Decision-Making runs for four weeks, but I set aside three hours to complete it in one sitting. You may not want to do that though. Here’s why I completed it in one sitting. Most people like five-minute videos, or they like course modules that are quite short. That drives me absolutely nuts. I feel like I’m being spoon fed, which I dislike. I’m the kind of girl, who likes to sink her teeth into things. Taking the course in a 3-hour sitting, allowed me to do that. I took notes while watching the video. You may decide to do one module each week. Do what’s best for you.
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Additionally, I’ve read several books on creative problem solving, so the topic is not new to me. Despite that, I learned a lot of new information from the course. You don’t know what you don’t know. The professor, Rob Stone, mentioned the following books. I read A Whack on the Side of the Head a few years ago. Maybe it’s time to read it again. The other two books are new to me.
Decision Making: The Ultimate Guide to Decision Making
, Ryan Cooper
Problem-Solving: The Owner's Manual
, Pierce Howard
A Whack on the Side of the Head
, Roger von Oech and George Willett
Decision MakingProblem-SolvingA Whack on the Side of the Head
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In several of the posts that I wrote on the 10 main employability skills, I indicated, that in my opinion, some of the skills are related. I grouped complex problem solving, critical thinking, creativity, judgement and decision making and cognitive flexibility together. I extracted the following from the Effective Problem-Solving and Decision-Making course description.
“Critical thinking – the application of scientific methods and logical reasoning to problems and decisions – is the foundation of effective problem solving and decision making. Critical thinking enables us to avoid common obstacles, test our beliefs and assumptions, and correct distortions in our thought processes.”
From the course description, you’re learning three skills – problem solving, decision making and critical thinking.
Negotiations and Conflict Management
I came across this comprehensive course on Saylor.org. Negotiations and Conflict Management will take a while for me to complete because it appears to be a semester length course. I’m sure that after I complete the course, I’ll have a more solid understanding of negotiation. And I will be able to extract the core, secondary, and peripheral ideas of the course.
I also registered for and took the Art of Negotiation on the Coursera platform. It’s not as detailed as the course on Saylor.org, and it’s not meant to be. The following three books were recommended.
The Only Negotiating Guide You’ll Ever Need
, Peter B. Stark and Jane Flaherty
Getting to Yes
, Roger Fisher and William Ury
The Negotiation Book, Steve Gates
The Only Negotiating Guide You'll Ever NeedGetting to YesThe Negotiation Book
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Creativity Workshop
For over 10 years, I’ve been wanting to take the Creativity Workshop in New York City. And now the price has increased from $500 to $900 over the 10 years. That’s what I get for waiting so long. After 10 years, I’m still interested in this workshop, so I think it’s time to take it. Take a look to see if the creativity workshop will work for you. It’s three hours each day for four days, so you won’t be overwhelmed with information.
Creativity, Innovation, and Change
I also registered for Creativity, Innovation, and Change by Pennsylvania State University, on the Coursera platform. The course runs for six weeks, but I’m not sure if they’ll release all the course at once. That would work really well for me. I schedule time each morning to take courses. So, I can accomplish a lot during that undisturbed time.
InspirED Educator Toolbox
The InspirED Educator Toolbox course is free, and on emotional intelligence. Although this course is targeted to educators, after reading the course description, I believe it will be invaluable to me.
Thoughts on Courses to Learn the 10 Skills Needed for Future Jobs
These are the courses that I have decided to take so far. During the next two weeks, I’ll be busy taking all the courses, except for the Creativity Workshop, which I will be taking in New York City in 2017. When I choose additional courses to take, to learn each of the 10 skills, I’ll let you know.
Book to Read to Learn 10 Skills Needed for Future Jobs
I’m not going to list books I plan to read to learn the 10 skills needed for future jobs since I already did that for you. I’ll be pulling my books to read from the list that I created for you.
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Final Thoughts on How I Plan to Learn the 10 Skills Needed for Future Jobs
I’ll be learning the skills with you. I’ll be reading books as well as taking courses. I’ll be blogging about what I’m learning as a way to apply what I learn. I recognize that not everyone who wants to learn the 10 main employability skills will be able to do so because of time commitments. If things go a I’d like, I’ll package some of the information for sale, so that these people won’t be left behind.
