What will the future of work look like?

Peter Cheese, Chief Executive of CIPD, gave a fascinating talk on Tuesday night, the first in this year’s Striding Out series.

Mr Cheese brought his wealth of experience in HR to advise what employers of the future will be looking for in their recruits. While AI (artificial intelligence) will change the landscape as it assumes higher order tasks, it is human and machine working together that will be vital, he said, with humans providing the critical thinking, the creativity and the empathy. Thus, all these skills and aptitudes will be important, together with resilience, of course. “You’ll have to be ok dealing with change – look for the opportunities.” He highlighted the value of volunteering and getting work experience outside of school (“you can learn a lot from mundane jobs”)  in order to communicate effectively with others of a different age and working style.

So for the practical advice for Generation Z and the Millennials: remain intellectually curious, become a ‘self-directed’ learner, someone who learns through life. Don’t discount apprenticeships and internships (parents note!) – he proclaimed himself a strong advocate of on-the-job learning and emphasised the emergence of Degree Apprenticeships as an option. Careers will be more chequered, with 15 – 20 jobs being the norm, Mr Cheese explained, so not doing a degree at the outset will not count against you in the long run.

And a key piece of advice: learn to write a good letter! Write speculative letters to HR departments of the organisations you are interested in, whether or not they are officially recruiting. Be bold! (And finally, become a cyber security expert – there’s a dire shortage of those in the UK.)

Our careers team puts on a number of events under the Striding Out banner over the course of the year. Alumnae, parents and other visitors help by sharing insight into their chosen professions / careers. They are currently in one-to-one discussions with Year 11 students about their A level choices, thought on university courses and possible jobs beyond.