Friday 29 Mar 2024
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One of the major life decisions young adults face is choosing what course to take in college or university, that will empower them to grow into successful adults with a satisfying lifelong career path. Nowadays, standing at this crossroads can be daunting, as there are so many degree options on offer. For many, disciplines such as engineering, architecture, medicine and legal studies may still be the default choice to set oneself on the path to success, but this is changing with the advent of the fourth industrial revolution (IR 4.0).

As the economy continues to grow and transform, there will be more focus on industries such as the services and the creative sectors, according to Professor Hew Gill, Associate Provost and Professor of Psychology at Sunway University. As such, he says the students of tomorrow will need a range of skills to equip themselves to cope with these new economic realities. "It is no longer just about the old, traditional degrees. Students must be able to move into subjects that have to do with creativity and services."

Gill says artificial intelligence (AI), for example, is going to have a huge impact on our lives. Already, we are seeing driverless cars, buses and lorries on the road. While robotisation is not too common across all industries yet, robots taking over the manual labour in palm plantations certainly does not sound too far-fetched.

"Nobody can really say what the future holds. But we can look [at] the broad perimeters of how things are going to change," he tells The Edge.

Another very important economic sector, he adds, will be entertainment. An interesting example he gives is computer gaming, which did not exist 25 years ago. However, a couple of years ago, for the first time, computer gaming made more money than Hollywood. What we are seeing now is that thousands of people are combining their IT and psychology skills to design new areas of expertise that allow people to create amazing online virtual scenarios that generate huge amounts of wealth.

As jobs continue to diverge and evolve, Gill says the most important thing is to equip children with transferable skills and not simply academic disciplines. "Your degree is not your destiny. Just because you qualify as an accountant does not mean that you will spend the rest of your life as an accountant," says Gill.

Quoting The Future of Jobs Report 2018 by The World Economic Forum, he says future students will need "human" skills such as creativity, originality, critical thinking and negotiation, as this will maintain or increase their value and will train them in complex problem-solving.

He stresses that the degree courses of the future will be more than a simple academic discipline. "They will have to be about equipping young people with a range of intellectual, interpersonal and social skills that will enable them to transfer easily between different working environments and be successful in every single one of them."      

Gone are the days when students are confined to the classroom in front of their textbooks. "It is equally important for them to get out there and work with the wider community. In the future, students will need to go outside the institution, build networks, build frameworks, interact with as many people as they possibly can and ideally solve business-related problems. We need to get away from chalk and talk. We need to get to much more practical-based scenarios."

He says all aspects of development for a maturing young person are equally important. But it is understandable that children today are a little more nervous as the future looks unclear. However, Gill says the rising generations have many opportunities and choices, so it is important to identify what they are good at and play to their strengths. In this case, parents play a crucial role in guiding their children towards their future. "You know your children better than anybody else. You know what they are like and what they are good at."

And he warns parents not to force their children to study a subject they are going to hate. "It is important to align your child's interests with what you think they are going to be good at and then make sure that you nudge them into finding a career based on the things that they can do."

OCBC Premier Banking understands that preparing for your life goals is one of the most important decisions that you will make. Be it for your children's education, your retirement or leaving a legacy for your loved ones, being financially prepared for the uncertainties of life is of the utmost importance. It is never too early or late to start. Speak to us today about your life goals and let us help you attain them. Call us at (03) 8315 4288 or visit www.ocbc.com.my/Premier to find out more.

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