Teach Secondary - Issue 13.2

Choose your DESTINATION Students will usually be supported in taking the first steps along their preferred career path – but what can schools do to help them decide on what their career ambitions actually are? W e recently had the privilege of discussing careers and future work trends with 300 high schoolers in Vienna. Despite themhaving spent most of their lives in an idyllic suburb of the city, the audience was surprisingly well-informed about world events. Indeed, they demonstrated great passion around issues such as climate, justice, equality, and fairness. At the same time, however, they were naïve about the world of business, anxious regarding their prospects for a good career and worried about meeting lofty expectations. Understandyour starting point. We began our advice by presenting some context. One of the most important ingredients for a successful career is to think through how current trends concerning economic, political and social change are likely to influence the future of work, so we set out the following four key observations: 1. The speed of life and pace of change are accelerating Some time ago, we attended a conference hosted by BP for some of its most senior leaders. After stepping on stage, the event’s keynote speaker slowly scanned the room before calmly remarking, ‘Note this moment – this will be slowest day of the rest of your life.’ We live in an increasingly digital world characterised by an ever-accelerating pace of change, but rather than fighting it we should embrace it. Workplace processes are no longer linear, but now encompass ‘everything, everywhere, all at once.’ Negative judgements around the pervasiveness of multitasking and the ‘invasive’ nature of social media are wide of the mark. Generation Z has intuitively figured this out for themselves –much to the disapproval of their parents. 2. Sources of learning are nowmuchmore diverse It’s the most amazing experience to talk to a waiter in a remote peninsula of Colombia about Kafka’s Metamorphosis , but that’s how the world operates these days. Some people might not have fresh water or individual showers, but they do have smartphones that enable access to the cumulative wisdom of all humanity. Education has been democratised. This single reality will change the world. 3. New careers and income opportunities are emerging all the time A young serial entrepreneur recently complained to us that you can earn a better living nowadays as a Tik-Tok influencer, worrying aloud about whether business ownership, with all its stresses and responsibilities, was ultimately worth it. The truth, however, is that doing anything well requires perseverance, sacrifice and dedication. When something’s done well, it only appears easy to those looking on. He also pointed out the diversity of career choices that had been available to him, compared to now. 50 years ago, many would race to secure places on the best corporate graduate programs. Today, most of the college graduates we talk to are seeking introductions to venture capital firms. Young people shouldn’t limit their ambitions to just the traditional corporate career paths of old. 4. The concepts of a global mindset and global citizenship have become more mainstream Have you noticed howmany shows on Netflix are set in Asian, European or Latin American countries? It’s indicative of how now, more than ever, people are familiar and happy to engage with diverse ways of living, customs, traditions, and attitudes from around the globe. “Youngpeople shouldn’t limit theirambitions to the corporate careerpaths ofold” 28 teachwire.net/secondary