Adaptability of the US Engineering and Technical Workforce Proceedings of a Workshop (2018) / Chapter Skim
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3 Why Is Adaptability Important?
3 Why Is Adaptability Important?
Pages 12-20
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From page 12... ...
• reater adaptability of workers could raise productivity in the G United States by $30 billion. (Berger)
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From page 13... ...
The panelists had very different backgrounds -- one was an economist with a technology company, one was the leader of a utility company, and one was a university administrator.1 Yet they agreed that people working in the modern economy need to be adaptable to deal with an uncertain future. PREPARING FOR AN UNCERTAIN FUTURE Productivity growth in the United States is the lowest it has been in 30 years, reported Guy Berger, chief economist with LinkedIn.
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From page 14... ...
Market forces and the educational system are pushing people into acquiring less adaptable human capital. Instead of broad skills in areas such as chemistry, history, or chemical engineering, college students are acquiring relatively narrow skills, such as learning how to use popular programming languages.
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This happens throughout the economy. For instance, when the price of oil crashed and many workers employed in the fossil fuel industry in the United States lost their jobs, many appear to have found employment in other areas such as construction.
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Whether considering an engineer who does technical work or a lineman who does physical work, "I'm looking for people who are adaptable, who are continuous learners." Interviews give some indication of whether a person will have an agile mindset, but they
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Individuals who are not adaptable to changing conditions will be more at risk in the future, Dudkin continued. They need the same things that companies need: adaptability, curiosity, humility, a capacity to innovate and learn continuously, and the ability to deliver results while monitoring industry and technology trends.
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From page 18... ...
Before the 20th century, the emphasis was on physical labor, basic engineering, and skills leading to a stable job. From the start FIGURE 3-1 Society is at an inflection point that marks a transition between humans handling most routine tasks and machines performing the majority of routine tasks.
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As people matured, learned from experience, and gained judgment, they became particularly valuable workers in the middle to later years of their careers. But in today's rapidly changing world, the high-value zone tends to occur earlier in a person's career.
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It's click and mortar." To accommodate this more varied learning environment, spaces on campus will need to be open and flexible so that they can be used for many different purposes, whether as maker spaces, faculty offices, or classrooms. The institution can partner with businesses to provide the skills students need, perhaps through online or blended instruction around the edges of an ongoing job.
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