By Dr Ram Gopal
THE deep entrenchment of technology into society at large is very evident from the impact of social media.
We bear witness to times when an individual has more ‘friends’ online than offline but fast forward to the pandemic and the sweeping lockdowns that are making practically all occupations online endeavours, and you will begin to comprehend the vast inroads that technology has made in our daily lives.
It used to be that one could get by with a minimum of technology know-how and abilities, but those days are gone.
The all-prevalent onslaught of data and applications means that most industries are now irrevocably technology-reliant and by that token so are the occupations in those industries.
It is not just half of every occupation existing which has changed in nature, but rather practically all of them.
While the changes exist to varying degrees, they are apparent, nonetheless. Even vocational trades must have some form of digital marketing to retain the necessary market share to survive.
Retailers are either online or extinct, and even then, merely being online does not cut it these days. A slew of threats necessitates rigorous cybersecurity protocols, while social media marketing has become something of a science as well.
These days maintaining physical infrastructure is prohibitive, forcing most businesses to go cloud or go bust, not to mention the fact that without data driven decision making, we are basically taking a stab in the dark.
Even the stability of having a university degree is far diminished in this era of rapid change, and as such, reskilling is the order of the day. It will be the new normal of education to reskill continually throughout an individual’s professional life.
I would go so far as to say that for most vocations, a degree is unnecessary, since the order of the day is skills, not just information.
It is a far better thing to have the abilities that employers are looking for than to have the knowledge that a textbook can furnish.
I am not saying that knowledge and textbooks are unimportant; they are, but they are also not all-important. The rate of change and advancement in technology is such that one would barely be able to get by with a five-year-old phone, yet many soldier on with 20-year-old degrees.
This mentality is very inconsistent and worse still leads to many individuals being made redundant. Technology stacks change constantly, and methodologies evolve ceaselessly, thus we cannot afford to remain as we are, but must continuously strive to improve.
Keep in mind, what is a predicament for some is a golden opportunity for many. Technology is a great equaliser, allowing great strides to be taken in little time, making the game of ‘catch-up’ a real possibility, as opposed to a particular organisation having built up such a lead that it then becomes insurmountable.
This reality allows those just leaving their secondary school education to potentially flourish in a sea of opportunity, while those heavily entrenched in their mundane careers wallow in an ocean of uncertainty.
The future is yours to shape, but only if you accept that learning is a lifelong process and not a one-shot solution.
Just as you must eat daily to survive, so should you learn ceaselessly in order to flourish. We are all of us, custodians of a great future, we just need to harness the tools around us.
Humanity can never be replaced, but we must nonetheless evolve, and in our conviction, dedication and determination, so shall history remember us as the generation who made our dance with knowledge an everlasting waltz. – July 9, 2021
Dr Ram Gopal is the Director of Strategy & Innovation at Redbeat Academy.
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.
