Preparing students for the future world of work in important for the Cape Peninsula University of Technology. A workshop was hosted by the Cooperative Education Unit of the Centre for Community Engagement and Work Integrated Learning in partnership with the Cape Town Science Centre.
Project Lead David Haarhoff says that students are the centre of their core business and their development in respect of skills is critical. He adds that they have a huge responsibility to ensure that they meet industry expectations. Centre for Community Engagement and Work-Integrated Learning’s Director Prof Lalini Reddy says that in the World Economic Forum 2023 report, it says technology adoption will remain the key driver for business transformation as we go forward in the next five years. And many of you, whether you are in second year or third year, you are going to be looking for jobs in these next five years.
You need to know what the trends are out there. You need to be kept active and aware.
Biologist Jason Shen studied biology but later became a product manager at a tech company. Shen shares his perspective on human potential as well as some new thinking on how job seekers can make themselves stand out.
The hiring systems we built in the 20th century are failing us and causing us to miss out on people with incredible potential. The advances in robotics and machine learning and transforming the way we work, automating routine tasks in many occupations while augmenting and amplifying human labor in others. At this rate, we should all be expecting to do jobs we've never done before for the rest of our careers. So what are the tools and strategies we need to identify tomorrow's high performers? In search for answers, I've consulted with leaders across many sectors, read dozens of reports and research papers and conducted some of my own talent experiments. My quest is far from over, but here are three ideas to take forward.
- One: expand your search. If we only look for talent in the same places we always do -- gifted child programs, Ivy League schools, prestigious organizations -- we're going to get the same results we always have. Baseball was transformed when the cash-strapped Oakland Athletics started recruiting players who didn't score highly on traditionally valued metrics, like runs batted in, but who had the ability to help the team score points and win games. This idea is taking hold outside of sports. The Head of Design and Research at Pinterest told me that they've built one of the most diverse and high-performing teams in Silicon Valley because they believe that no one type of person holds a monopoly on talent. They've worked hard to look beyond major tech hubs and focus on designers' portfolios, not their pedigrees.
- Two: hire for performance. Inspired by my own job experience, I cofounded a hiring platform called Headlight, which gives candidates an opportunity to shine. Just as teams have tryouts and plays have auditions, candidates should be asked to demonstrate their skills before they're hired. Our clients are benefiting from 85 years of employment research, which shows that work samples are one of the best predictors of success on the job. If you're hiring a data analyst, give them a spreadsheet of historical data and ask them for their key insights. If you're hiring a marketing manager, have them plan a launch campaign for a new product. And if you're a candidate, don't wait for an employer to ask. Seek out ways to showcase your unique skills and abilities outside of just the standard resume and cover letter.
- Three: get the bigger picture. I've heard about recruiters who are quick to label a candidate a job-hopper based on a single short stint on their resume; read about professors who are more likely to ignore identical messages from students because their name was black or Asian instead of white.
Cape Town Mayor Geordan Hill-Lewis Recently went into the area of Kewtown for community clean up initiative. According to Mayor Hill-Lewis community cleanups are fun and he had a great time cleaning the Athlone suburb of Kewtown. The mayor says as a city they want Cape Town to be a cleaner city for all who live here, no matter where you live, with the help of every resident, we as Capetonians can do it.
Mayor Geordin Hill Lewis says that he is in the Kewtown flats cleaning up. What a great way to start the day. Hill-Lewis says that this is part of their clean up Cape Town campaign. They want Cape Town to be clean and tidy for everyone who lives in it. He encourages citizens to pick up litter and to make sure that no one else is littering.
One of the most common things that they found are chip packets. That is people that are dropping the chip packets on the floor. We can all make a difference in cleaning them up and making sure that no one drops them on the floor.
The internationally recognized Strengthening Families Programmme has proven to reduce problem behaviours, delinquency, and substance abuse in children as well as improve social skills and school performance. The programme aims to assist parents in understanding their children better; this can help prevent children from taking part in harmful activities. Some of the mothers who attend the programme secure work with the City’s Expanded Public Works Programme.
The City has also introduced Family Recreational Events, in areas where the programme is run. This creates a safe place for families to spend quality time together. Participants of the course attend an eight week course, they learn about family values, parenting skills, peer pressure and how to communicate.
Coming to Cape Town is the Earthshot Prize 2024. This will be a first for African citizens to experience this global environmental award ceremony in November. They say that we all face a great challenge and that is to regenerate the place we all call home in the next ten years. The Earthshot Prize searches the globe for INSPIRED innovations that will help repair the planet.
They award the five most innovative solutions each year with £1 million to continue their work. So far, they have had fifteen winners. Their vision is to repair the planet before irreversible damage occurs. The five Earthshots categories are: Protect and Restore Nature; Clean our Air; Revive our Oceans; Build a Waste-Free World; and Fix our Climate.
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