The Future of Work: Preparing for Disruption

1. PROJECT: THE FUTURE OF WORK: PREPARING FOR DISRUPTION
Future of Work has been a hot topic. Researchers, employers and policymakers use the phrase
to describe the paradigm shift in human resource management as a result of the emerging era of
automation, artificial intelligence and robotics. Futurists are concerned about the consequence
of automation on the workforce globally.
Human capital is the stock of habits, knowledge, social and personality attributes embodied in
the ability to perform labour so as to produce economic value. Human capital is unique and
differs from any other capital. It is needed for every organization to achieve goals, develop and
remain innovative.
The future of work in my country Nigeria will be shaped by disruptions to labor markets from
global trends including the generation and diffusion of digital technologies, economic
integration among others. For instance, Digital technology innovations are transforming the
nature of work, adoption of digital technologies has the potential for strong, positive net effects
on jobs, also has the potential to lead to higher productivity and jobs gains in the informal
sector. The disruption of technology is revolutionizing industries across many levels. As
businesses evolve during the unprecedented revolution in the workplace, appropriate
operating models must be put in place to meet the continuous demands of clients and the
world around us. The future workforce must be equipped with the necessary tools to allow
them to easily adapt to the ever-changing world that will require digital skills, organizational
adaptability and a different kind of leadership at all levels.

2. In my country Nigeria, the banking industry specifically, has faced significant disruption from
changes in client expectations, geopolitical landscape shifts and development of artificial
intelligence (AI). There is often anxiety linked to disruption, as it cannot always be predicted
and organizations need to be ready to take advantage of new developments now for the future.
Technology is undoubtedly disrupting the labor market and creating a whole new set of jobs.
Clearly, businesses are already innovating, evolving and following trends in the tech world. Due
to this, some have said that technology will force people out of jobs and render a large chunk
unemployable. This is only true for those who are stagnant and refuse to up skill. Ideas like
artificial intelligence, internet of things, automation, virtual reality, machine learning, touch
commerce and more have become known and are widely being used to simplify the functions
of workers. As such the future of work will revolve around machines helping humans to
improve and boost productivity.
Nigerian youths are aware that the workplace is changing. However, there is still a lot to be
done to prepare them for the future of work. Unfortunately, only a handful of organizations are
willing to train graduates. The onus is, therefore, on the students to acquire skills that will put
them in tandem with the current trends in the workplace.
However, the first thing is to overhaul the courses of some Nigerian universities. These courses
should reflect the current technology trend. This will equip the students will skills and
knowledge that are essential to the workplace. As such, these graduates will become
employable and would not need to scavenge for jobs; jobs will be readily waiting for them.