A mid-career mentor and career strategist expects technology to force many workers into adopting new skills after the effects of the pandemic.

“Working professionals can expect to hold over 12 jobs in their lifetime; that’s a lot of change to handle. These changes are driven primarily by technology”, says Selina Yankson, a career mentor and strategist from North London. “Employers are striving for business efficiency. Inevitably, that means the ongoing growth of automation workflow technologies and AI (Artificial Intelligence) integration within the workplace.”

Selina explains: “According to the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report – 2020, 50 per cent of all employees will need reskilling by 2025 as the adoption of technology increases.

“These skills include critical thinking, data handling and interpreting, leadership, technology design, programming and learning strategies.

“The pandemic has definitely accelerated the need for digital technology within businesses. Technology will not allow us to go backwards. Workers have to wake up to the fact that the skills that may have served them well in the past might not be sufficient for their longer-term career growth as traditional job roles disappear and new technology-focused jobs are introduced.”

Selina says: “It’s no accident that organisations who have successfully fought their way through the pandemic in these challenging times are those who have embraced technology as it’s helped them keep pace with customer needs and to stay ahead of competitors.

“Progressive employers want to streamline their business processes from the top down. They understand that the right technology will help them to do that. Logically, organisations will seek to attract and retain people who have complementary technical skills, but some mid-career professionals may not truly understand the different skills-set technology-driven jobs create.”

She continues: “Workers are going to have to audit their skills more closely in the future and plug the gaps by upskilling themselves regularly if they want to stay in control of their career path. Upskilling and reskilling are going to be key for retaining career fulfilment. That’s where I come in – I help experienced professionals to identify the transferable skills they need to move forward and identify a career path they enjoy.

“It’s understandable why some professionals are reluctant to embrace change especially when the old ways worked in their favour for so long. But we are living in a unique time and people will have to accept that the jobs landscape has changed forever.

“Some people are even taking a step down to reskill and ensure they’re set up for the future – essentially reverse engineering themselves. Mid-career employees must understand what they’re good at and how they can further develop those skills to occupy roles in other industries now and in the future.”