21st century defines uncertainty. As we discussed in the previous blog, the very nature of jobs is changing tremendously with technology and hence, we also have to brace ourselves for uncertainty.

This time belongs to people who are adaptable and open to learning things, unlearning what has been learnt, and relearning what will change in the near future.

Keeping this in mind, let's dive deeper into how 21st-century skills will let you succeed in one’s respective careers.

You might hear people say that stability in jobs is imperative but that would probably have been the case a few decades ago. ^[1]A report by FICCI suggests that majority of Indian employees spend 2-5 years in a company. Employees exceeding 10 years is just 12%. The time is changing and so are the skills. 21st-century skills help you think critically, communicate, collaborate with people and organisations, work on life skills, self-direct your goals, bring innovation in education and in your personal life as well, encourage creativity and in turn, work on your communication skills as well. Since the demand is changing, jobs are changing, so are workplaces and the working environment. You no longer have to sit on a chair, with a desktop in front, and work like a machine, nine hours a day.

Since the entire spectrum is rapidly altering, careers of the future would not be mainstream and will demand the 21st-century skills. Laszlo Bock, who is in-charge of hiring at Google says that the company looks for soft-skills like leadership, humility, collaboration, adaptability, and loving to learn and re-learn. Governments around the world are focusing on 21st-century skills and education and improvising on their policies to fill the gap, but, unless they are looking at this from the sustainability point of view, we will be losing out on few important elements. According to the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, sustainable education can enable the youth to take decisions on their own and understand how those decisions will affect them and the future generations.

Another aspect of implementing these skills in the kids and youth is the fact that the programs we try to materialise, should keep in mind the current situation of social inclusion. They are to be designed in a way that we leave behind or reduce social vulnerabilities that prevail in the global setting. Organisations like UNESCO and educational technology companies are tirelessly working on building frameworks in this domain to remove any kind of disparity.

When a person acquires these 21st century skills, it gives them an upper hand when looking from the employability perspective. Consider this – Would you hire someone who is receptive to positive criticism and believes in giving one for improving the organisational space or someone who are merely inflexible? A lot of careers in the 21st century will demand these traits out of you and should you think you are ready to unlearn and relearn according to the needs of the market, you are more likely to end up in a better situation than you thought.

Reading about developing skills and going out and working for it are two different things, altogether. Your job's half done if you've taken back from this blog, and if you think it's time for you to work upon it, you can be a part of Brainwiz's journey on developing 21st-century skills through our programs, or reach out at www.brainwiz.in for more details.

Sources: ^[1] http://www.ficci.in/spdocument/20787/FICCI-Indian-Higher-Education.pdf