Skills for the Future Workforce

Educators, administrators, and policy makers can help students build the mindsets and skill sets needed for the modern, tech-driven workplace by integrating technology-based activities into existing curricula and everyday teaching.

The Changing Workplace

The modern workplace and job landscape are shifting dramatically as technology continues to advance. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated this pace, and now amid the Fourth Industrial Revolution—which converges digital and physical systems while increasing human-machine interaction—virtually every career will be impacted by technology and require new skill sets.

A 2018 McKinsey report projected double-digit increases (US and Europe) by 2030 in the time spent using advanced technological skills and in the demand for social and emotional and higher cognitive skills.1 Data from the 2020 World Economic Forum (WEF) Future of Jobs Report stated that companies expect to restructure their workplace, digitalizing working processes, in response to the adoption of new technologies. Machines and algorithms will be applied to data retrieval and processing and repetitive tasks, while human workers will focus on decision-making, reasoning, communication, and management activities.2

As adults, we can develop new skills while already immersed in certain industries, but what about students in school? With rapid changes in technology, it’s critical that students learn about modern technology at a similar pace. At Intel, we believe introducing youth to technology-supported, skills-based learning practices in their learning environment can prepare them for any future career they choose to pursue.