The challenge of developing professional profiles in the midst of the digital revolution

The digital age drives the constant changes in corporate structures. traditional working hours they look and are obsolete against the irreverent challenge proposed by fintech, marketplaces and service apps, for example. The world of work is not immune, even in traditional companies used to withstand very difficult times and competitors that threaten their business models. But this requires complex adaptation processes and employees, professionals and managers with new skills and knowledge.

The theme was the focus of two talks organized by Clarione and in which he spoke “The professions of the future”. The first was attended by Erica Zamora (Quilmes); Gustavo Goldman (Takeoff); Jorge Cella (Microsoft) and Paula Szenkman (CIPPEC). The second was composed by Tomás Mestre Olmedo (Government of the City of Buenos Aires); Leonardo Medrano (University of the 21st century); Sergio Faraudo (Telecom) and Verónica Rodríguez Bargiela (AA 2000).

Both tables were led by two Clarín journalists: the editor-in-chief of Economics, Daniel Fernández Canedo, and of Education, Ricardo Braginski, and are part of the cycle “The world to come”, Which has the main support of OSDE, Telecom and DESA, in addition to the sponsorship of Afarte, and the support of Aeropuertos Argentina 2000, Despegar, Universidad Siglo 21 and Quilmes.

Engineers, Big Data experts, technicians and programmers are some of the most sought after profiles globally. “There is a lot of focus on analyzing this data, but there is another focus that has to do with emotional intelligence,” Goldman said.

Technological advances, automation and digitalisation of processes destroy jobs. This has happened throughout history, but “the pandemic has brutally accelerated the trend and companies have begun to incorporate technology like never before,” said Cella, but at the same time it clarifies. “It has created a world full of opportunities for young and old: for everyone“.

Changes occur at an unexpected speed due to the outbreak of the pandemic, but over the past 10 years, new professions have emerged. A 2021 McKinsey Global Institute report estimated that 3-14% of the workforce will need to switch job categories by 2030 due to automation, artificial intelligence and digital developments.

On hard and soft opportunities and skills, a fundamental fact: the two most searched profiles on the LinkedIn social network globally are programmers (22 million searches) and sellers (17 million). “Quilmes has 130 years of history and we want to continue for another 100 years,” says Zamora. In this regard, he mentions the effort to introduce changes in the organization and “that is why we have to look for leaders encourage curiosity in their teams“.

Experts point out that in this dynamic environment, continuous learning (internal and external) is essential. Szenkman points out that the impact of technology has changed production processes, consumption habits and sales. The tasks are not the same. “The challenge is to try to create jobs in the same place where they are destroyed”, He stresses, which requires the contribution of educational institutions and work.

The innovative waves do not stop and this produces jolts in the corporate fabric. The surprising thing is that it was generated a job gap between supply and demand. There are public initiatives that try to reduce it. “In the city, services represent almost 70% of the general activity”, remarks Mestre Olmedo. However, he clarifies that “there is an unsatisfied demand for programming, data analysts, digital marketing and e-commerce”, but on the other hand “youth unemployment is 25%“.

In this context, two questions arise: is the education system adequate to solve crossroads? What do companies do to get talent? Regarding this latter aspect, Rodríguez Bargiela Bargiela recalls that “we are looking for collaborate with universities develop programs to adapt to changing contexts and develop new skills ”.

Emergencies have to do with technological advances around the world and what many call the “4th Industrial Revolution” and the robotization of manual tasks. This was revealed in a report by the World Economic Forum 40% of basic skills will change in the next few years. This implies that just 60% of current knowledge will be valid by 2025.

Therefore, the search for talent in critical positions is intense. Faraudo emphasizes that, in this sense, leadership and its training play a fundamental role. Regarding the news, he clarified that “not all old is bad, not all new is good“.

In any case, he added that “technology creates bridges of access to knowledge and this allows for faster levels of learning”. Rodríguez Bargiela completes: technological means “offer the opportunity to learn, train and reinventing oneself beyond age“.

The pandemic has given impetus to remote work and has brought an anticipated future closer for the next few years. Faraudo explains that he “he passed from sedentary work to working nomadism“. Therefore, it defines the coexistence of virtual, face-to-face or hybrid jobs, depending on the function each performs. Virtualization in education is nothing new, but for Medrano, hthere is to adapt study programs and methods to respond to new market demands.

“We have to analyze what we teach and how we teach it. We come up with a model of medieval studies, which conveys the same knowledge to the same people. And reality isn’t like that anymore, “she said.

Mestre Olmedo agreed. He said it would be necessary to “rethink the way we deliver an education that was conceived 40 years ago, with a lot of industrial work and repetitive and routine tasks. Today the knowledge economy requires other types of leadership and also other types of learning ”.

“It is a changing social ecosystem. We are experiencing a digital revolution, which is a paradigmatic break “, summarized Faraudo, then concluding that”this is a great opportunity for young countries like ours. The big challenge is how to retrain skills ”.