Today, we are living in the 21’st century, with fast-developing #Technologies, #digital economy, #Knowledge society and #Global #Uncertainty. #Corona pandemic (#Covid- 19) which erupted in China during Dec 2019, has played havoc on industry and life of all citizens in the entire world, Many industries were shut down for over a year and #job #opportunities have shrunk may folds. Corona fear still continues in 2022. #Ukraine war and #China expanding rapidly in #Indian #Ocean and #Pacific region makes every nation worried There is ever-growing mistrust within and outside the countries, chaos and confusion in #national #policies, #youth #unrest from within/supported by #foreign #adversaries, #global # warming and calamities like #tsunami and #hurricanes. There are #disruptions in alliances, a slowdown in # industry and right-sizing/ #downsizing of manpower. This situation is further compounded by sponsored/outsourced #terrorism and #violence, purported by #fundamentalists like #ISIS, #Jihadist #Taliban groups and sea pirates across the world. While rapid advances in technologies have provided means to explore beyond our own country and improve our #productivity, longevity, #speed of travel, #decision making and #lifestyle, it has been causing # disruptions and #displacements of jobs. However, new technologies also create new jobs which of course require new #skills, more multi-tasking and efficient use of resources. This scenario demands fast learning and adapting to newer skill sets, # creativity, #innovation and enduring #alliances.
The old concept of joining a company and slowly
growing in it till your #retirement is no longer valid
today. Instead of employing, #training and providing job #stability
and drawing #loyalty toward the employer, #hiring and #firing are becoming
a common feature. You are to be alert and look out for #opportunities to
switch your job, at an appropriate time, rather than sticking on to the #traditional
jobs. You are to actively manage your #career and judiciously change companies
for better growth, learn new skills, raise your #visibility and pay #package.
Both the #employer and #employee want the best out
of each other and for you; it is #survival of the #fittest. Each one of us is
going through the process of acquiring professional #education, acquiring new
skills and working hard to have stability and #growth in our job. Likewise,
each employer is looking for highly competent, multi-skilled, innovative and
creative professionals who are easily adaptable to a fast-changing #technology #environment.
The world around us is highly #interconnected, #interdependent, and #uncertain, where market reach is global and operating on a 24x7 basis. #Geographical #boundaries of countries have disappeared and time zones have become an advantage for global business. Indeed, we are coexisting and cooperating in one global village, which is complex, demanding, dynamic, speedy and full of challenges. Since the beginning of this century, there have been numerous conflicts, disturbances, unrests revolts, and violence in many countries across the globe. There has been a continuous war against terrorism in Iraq, and Afghanistan and still ongoing battles in Yemen, Israel and Palestine. There is an ongoing tension between North and South Korea, Israel and Palestine, Iran and Israel and a few countries around Russia. Likewise, certain countries in Latin America, South Asia, Africa and the Middle East are the cause of global uncertainty. At the beginning of the year 2017, the world had seen a big shift in USA's global strategy, particularly towards the Middle East, North Korea and Venezuela. Winter Olympics games saw North Korea and South Korea participating under a common flag. Such coming together was unthinkable in 2017 but it happened in Feb 2018. In Mar 2018, we have seen two historic political victories where Chinese president Xi Jim Ping got the lifetime post of president of China and Russian President Mr Vladimir Putin got the 4th term of six years with a thumping majority. Putin will now rule Russia until 2024 and maybe beyond. There may be new alignments where the USA, Russia and China will try to dominate the world through economic and technological advancements. In Mar 2018, we are already witnessing a trade war between USA and China which is affecting the global economy. Indeed, we are living in a complex world, full of turmoil, where the only thing which is certain is uncertainty. All such events are resulting in a stressful working environment, the uncertainty of jobs or business alliances and even relationships among business partners. The education systems are finding it very hard to keep pace with the market demand of young professionals who are multi-skilled, highly productive and billable from day one.
The technology revolution (Industry Revolution 4.) is moving much faster than predicted by Moor. Technocrats and Datacrats will impact everyone whether at home or at the workplace. Automation of office work, Manufacturing, Process control industries, and Material handing in plants, Warehouses, and Construction sites continue to take away many jobs. Robotics, 3-D printing, Drones, Microprocessors, Cloud Computing, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Virtual Reality (VR), Machine Learning (ML), Internet of Things (IoT), and Embedded software technology continue to further impact areas like medical diagnostics and surgical operations, improving productivity, accuracy and scope of analysis and interpretation. Likewise, Digital Marketing, Mobile communication, Video conferencing, smartphones, Social Media, Prefab construction technology, and Bulk Rapid Transportation (BRT) systems are disrupting many jobs. These are impacting our health, #lifestyle, relationships/alliances, business environment, as well as career growth. Technology cuts both ways, disrupting the developing of human-intensive jobs and creating smarter jobs that need new skills. The survival kit is quick learning of new skills and early adoption of technologies. There is an urgent need to go from traditional skills of the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) to DICE (#Design-#Thinking, #Innovation,# Creativity and #Entrepreneurship).
The goal
of this book " Carrier Challenges during Global Uncertainty" is to provide jargon-free, compact and easy-to-grasp material to
young minds and show them the pathway to traverse and sustain their chosen
career during ever-increasing uncertainty. This book will help you to take
control of your current job and manage the transitional period between jobs
business switching and stay competitive to achieve your professional
goals. It will be a handy reference/guide for students undergoing
professional studies, business executives, team leaders, managers and
teachers/professors, having 3-15 years of service to re-assess them and build
themselves above themselves, to stay relevant to the organization. For people
of senior level, say who have 20 years or more experience, they may revisit and
revalidate some of their already tried out processes and business practices.
They should mentor younger professionals to stay on and not quit. Salient
points are given in bulleted form for ready to be used as PowerPoint (PPT)
slides by teachers, professors, HRD managers and career counsellors.
There are many books/e-books/white papers on
global uncertainty, career planning, job creation and government policy on
Public-Private Partnership (PPP), higher education, technical education, and vocational training. These are very inspiring and valuable inputs since these
contain the government’s intent, case studies and research work of world-famous
management experts /gurus. In this book, due emphasis has been given to embracing
emerging technologies, maintaining good health, being part of the digital world
and staying relevant to emerging markets.
In a world of great competition and high
uncertainty, employers/organizations seek value for money and employees expect
a good pay package to have career growth and stability. For this,
you must equip yourselves with appropriate academic qualifications, skill sets,
a positive attitude, listening to others, honouring commitment and
determination to meet the expectations of those who matter. Likewise,
entrepreneurs and small business people need multi-skilling, multi-tasking,
collaborating and building new networks and alliances. As an employee, you are
required to make a commitment, declare your Key Result Areas (KRAs) and carry
out a self-audit as to how you are moving ahead to fulfilling your commitment. Some
organizations are using SAP “Success Factor” like software tools to assess the
performance of their employees while carrying out the annual appraisal. Hence
your growth and stability in your career are linked to your commitment and
performance.
This book can act as a handy guide or friend for
young professionals in any field. To create a greater impact on you, the book
has been written in a simple language in a conversational mode as if “you” and
“we” are having face to face conversation. The book is designed to empower all
young professionals in any field like engineering, IT, business management,
marketing/sales, design, production, projects, banking, insurance, education,
healthcare, journalism and government or private sector. Every chapter suggests
you be adaptive, hardworking and determined to sustain your career during
prevailing uncertainty. Its contents are in simple language to help all
professionals quickly grasp the essentials. Repetition of certain words in
various sections is deliberate to reemphasize and create a deeper impact.
I have tried to add value, based on my 30 years in
the Indian Army (Signals), ten years in senior management in the corporate
sector, twelve years as an educationist and having a long association with
leading universities in the USA, UK, Australia and India. It is recommended to
treat this book as your companion and daily spare a little time to open it and
highlight a few paragraphs of your choice on the pages till you reach the last
page. Those who are very busy and cannot spare much time still can
gain if they just go through the first chapter of the Introduction and the
Summary at the end. Rest assured that within 45 days of picking up this book,
you will become more proactive, adaptable to new technologies and improve your
relationships/ networking. You will become more popular due to your creativity
and innovations. You will have better career growth and a very happy family life.
God Bless.
Book/ebook is available on www.amazon.in, www,flipkat.com. www.notionpress.com
Dr Sarbjit Singh, Former Executive Director/ Principal, Apeejay College
of Engineering, and Hony Advisor, School of Engineering & Technology,
Apeejay Stya University, Gurgaon, Haryana, India,
Contact: drsarbjit@gmail.com
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