The working world isn't what it used to be
By Stephanie Abba
It's not your parents' working world out there. The working world is transforming. Very few people work at the same job for their whole career and retire with a nice gold watch and a cushy pension. That's what used to happen - remember
The Wonder Years? But people who are leaving school today will most likely have many different jobs, probably in many different fields. Some jobs will be short-term, some longer-term. The lifetime jobs that your grandparents (or maybe even your parents) had are, in most cases, long gone. Many people today work contract to contract, or even project to project.
And educational standards and expectations have changed too. Take my father for instance. He's been with the same company since the 1970s, and has moved quite nicely up the corporate ladder. But he didn't have a university degree when he started there, and now it's rare that someone applies to work in his department without one.
How can you prepare yourself for the sometimes uncertain job market that you'll have to face when you leave school? How can your education help prepare you to be a employable person with marketable skills?
I contacted Deborah MacNamara, a career counsellor at Kwantlen University College in British Columbia, to ask her how careers and work are transformed when work is structured around individual projects rather than a full-time regular work week.
Stephanie: How is the job market different these days than it has been in the past?
Deborah: It is pretty much agreed upon that we are in the midst of another Industrial Revolution and the structure of work is transforming as we move into a knowledge-based economy. Instead of selling our labour to make things on an assembly line, more and more people in the North American labour market are selling their skills and knowledge. It is not enough to just have knowledge; we must be able to use the knowledge we have and apply it to problems in order to create solutions and new knowledge. For example, the PalmPilot is a product that required an application of existing knowledge involving computers, electronics, and time management practices.
Work is increasingly being scheduled around problem-solving. Organizations continue to offer full-time employment to people who have the key knowledge to the overall functioning of the organization, but many organizations are experimenting with new forms of work arrangements, including part-time, seasonal, contract and consulting. Workers are called in on an as-needed basis to provide their knowledge and skills when there is demand for their work. Because work is no longer structured according to the rhythms of the assembly line, there is more flexibility for people in their work and in the type of work arrangement they may have with a company. In the Canadian labour market, only 49 per cent of the working population actually have full-time regular employment; the remaining 51 per cent work have part-time, seasonal or contractual work arrangements.
Many of our expectations regarding work as well as many social and economic institutions (unemployment insurance, maternity leave, etc.) are centred on the idea of full-time employment, but full-time work is no longer the dominant reality for many people in the labour market. Given that work is transforming and that we may be selling our knowledge on a part-time, temporary or contractual basis, there is a need to understand how these changes in work arrangements affect our lives, our expectations and our approach to our work and our careers.
My Ph.D. thesis is addressing the issue of how people who work on a project basis or without the security of the organization manage their uncertain work arrangements. I am looking at the situations of high-tech sector contract workers in British Columbia, and trying to find out what their work and careers look like for them and the impact that it has on the rest of their life.
Stephanie: What skills do students need to learn to stay 'in the loop'?
Deborah: Given the transition to a knowledge-based economy, we need to be able to not only have knowledge but to be able to apply that knowledge and create new solutions and ideas. One key idea is that everyone needs to be a lifelong learner. If you want to stay current, you have to keep learning. This learning doesn't have to be only formal educational activities, but includes part-time non-credit courses, reading books relating to the field, and learning from others. If you think about the Internet and all of the jobs that are related to it, you'll see that many of the people in that field in the beginning had little formal training and were mostly self-taught.
Other skills sets that are important in today's labour market are entrepreneurial skills, problem-solving skills and interpersonal skills. This last set is critical, as most work opportunities are found through connections with other people, and these are often people you don't know very well. It is important to be able to network, to present yourself in a positive manner and to communicate effectively.
Stephanie: What are the questions that students ask you the most frequently?
Deborah: Students usually want to know what the labour market is like and if they will have jobs when they finish their educational program. No one can predict the future, but being aware of key labour market trends can help ease the uncertainty of work possibilities. I personally adhere to Nuala Beck's approach; she is a Toronto-based economist who advocates that people should study things they like and then find ways to apply that knowledge in the labour market. For example, if you like writing, you might consider becoming a technical writer.
Students often ask me what type of jobs they can get with a bachelor of arts degree. I usually tell students that these degrees are general and broad and are designed to help them become good critical thinkers, develop their writing and communication skills and provide them with knowledge in a particular area. What job can't you get with a bachelor of arts? People can go in a multitude of directions with this type of education and are successful in the labour market. The bottom line is people with degrees, regardless of the major or area of study, have lower levels of unemployment and higher earnings over a lifetime according to Job Futures.
However, education is only 50 per cent of the deal. Employers also want to see what experience you have; students need to try to get practical experience in the areas they are interested in. For example, if you are majoring in psychology, you can work with people in a helping capacity or do some volunteer work. These work experiences can help students better decide what kind of work they want to do in the future and will also provide them with the real work experience that employers are looking for.
The reality is that people need to learn to manage their careers. They need to ask themselves what skills will make them employable and how their skills will fill needs in the labour market. I think that in the next 20 years we will see a change in how people approach their careers; I think that those who take a proactive approach will be increasingly successful in the labour market.
Stephanie: Tell me a little about Kwantlen and how the programs offered affect the kinds of jobs Kwantlen students are looking for.
Deborah: Kwantlen is the largest university college in British Columbia and offers over 90 programs in a variety of areas from welding to nursing. The school offers applied degrees which offer students the opportunity to get a degree in an area where they can directly apply their knowledge to work after graduation. For example, our bachelor of business administration is entrepreneurial in nature and helps people prepare for work in small organizations, large companies or their own businesses.
Kwantlen's goal is to help students become lifelong learners which is directly in line with the needs of the knowledge economy. Because of Kwantlen's diversity and flexibility in offering educational programs, our students are very successful in gaining employment in many industries including trades, health care, education, technology, entertainment and business. In fact, there aren't many sectors of the labour market that Kwantlen students don't enter.
You don't have to be attending Kwantlen for Deborah's advice to be helpful - go talk to a career counsellor at your school, and find out how you can be prepared for work in the new job market.
