Leaving the Information Age
The conversation is beginning to go mainstream (again!) about the skills gap. Along with it, is a larger scale discussion about the general skills needed for a majority of jobs in the marketplace.
The Herman Trend Report mentioned this development recently in an article citing Author and Futurist, Ed Gordon. The piece focuses on Gordon’s thought that there’s a shift taking place from “The Information Age” to “The Cyber-Mental Age”. You can check out the full article here. Now, given that past “ages” have lasted several hundred (or thousand) years and The Information Age just ramped up a few short decades ago, I’m not sure we’re really shifting to something new just yet.
Regardless, in reading the article, these couple of sentences really struck me:
Prior to the Cyber-Mental Age (2010), we had a large percentage of jobs that required only minimal literacy and numeracy. Now, over 50% of jobs require high levels of literacy and numeracy, plus critical thinking, communications and computer skills. Only about 27% of the US workforce has these abilities.
Right after reading The Herman Trend Report, I see this headline from MSNBC.com: U.S. Workers Behind in Science and Math along with a quote that innovation in any economy depends upon math and science.
So, if we buy into Gordon’s idea that we’re leaving The Information Age and shifting to this supposed Cyber-Mental Age, then the resulting implication becomes that we are transitioning from automation to an era of innovation. An era where it doesn’t appear we have the necessary talent in place.
As I mentioned, I haven’t decided if I agree with the concept of leaving The Information Age. But I can definitely see where work is changing and skills aren’t keeping pace. If you’re interested in learning more, I found an in-depth article from T&D Magazine about Gordon’s ideas – you can download it here.
I don’t know that we have all the answers. But there are some heavy questions being considered. The solutions currently being tossed around about businesses investing in education and a complete revamp of the education system are IMHO spot on. But I can’t help but wonder: Will the conversation have to reach crisis proportions? When might that happen? And, at what point will we do something?
Image courtesy of Simutis [Nancy Newell]
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