Cognizant: training curriculums lag behind changing realities

Companies and higher education institutions (HEIs)* are training people for jobs that currently exist, but they need to train them as well for jobs that do not exist as yet.

This was the conclusion from Cognizant's Future of Learning report, based on a global survey of 601 top business executives at leading companies and 262 HEIs. The research aims to uncover insights into the changes these entities are making in their training and educational programmes, and the challenges they face in preparing tomorrow’s workforce.

Findings include:

Preparing the workforce for future jobs is a matter of survival for both businesses and HEIs

The majority of businesses (80%) and HEIs (72%) globally agree it is extremely important to prepare workers and students to work alongside emerging digital technologies. Businesses and HEIs in Singapore estimate that 60% and 55% of their total staff and students, respectively, will be prepared to handle new types of work driven by emerging digital technologies in the next five years. However, a 82% of Singaporean HEIs and 63% of businesses are presently unable to deliver.

Businesses are beginning to bear the burden of learning

Skills have become like mobile apps that need frequent upgrades. While 45% of businesses in Singapore currently update their learning content on an annual or biannual basis, 67% of HEIs only update their curriculum every two to six years. Globally, businesses are intent on speeding the pace of curriculum updates, with 75% planning to move to a one- to five-month or even continuous refresh schedule in the next five years. In contrast, only 30% of HEIs plan to increase update frequency, from today’s two- to six-year cycle to an annual one by 2023.

The work ahead means working together

Preparing the current and future workforce for the work ahead cannot take place in a vacuum. Three-quarters of both businesses and HEIs globally view collaboration as critical to successfully managing the transformative and disruptive impact of the new machine age. Singapore businesses appear less keen to collaborate with HEIs as opposed to educators – only 55% of businesses see collaboration as critical compared to 75% of HEIs.

Emerging technologies such as augmented reality/virtual reality (AR/VR) and artificial intelligence (AI) will supercharge learning by focusing on “how to learn” over “what to learn”

New modes of education delivery will emerge, with Netflix-style, on-demand digital assets allowing for anytime, anywhere self-learning. AI-driven learning platforms will personalise learning, and augmented/virtual reality (AR/VR) systems will become mainstream, with a 220% increase in the take-up of the technology by HEIs and businesses globally in in the next five years.

Source: Cognizant study. The top priorities for businesses (left) and HEIs (right) on preparing the workforce for the next five years.

Based on the insights, Cognizant has developed an industry solution for businesses and higher education institutions, which they define as a Future of Learning equation. It requires the following elements of change:

- More accurate skills identification to align with actual workplace needs.

- Overhauling the approach of curriculum and training to be more immersive and personalised.

- An environment supportive of self-learning, with access to multiple content sources like open educational resources.

Ultimately, the speed at which these elements are executed will determine their efficacy in preparing an aptly-skilled workforce, Cognizant said, suggesting that businesses and HEIs will need to engage in more flexible partnerships, quicker responses, different modes of delivery and new combined-skill programmes to reliably prepare people for what comes next.

Details:

Read the Future of Learning report (PDF)

*The term 'institutes of higher learning' (IHL) is often used as well.

Cognizant shares 3Cs to staying employed over the next decade

Cognizant’s Jobs of the Future Report has identified a three-point common theme for work that is centred on the human touch — Coaching, Caring, and Connecting — which it predicts will stay relevant, no matter what new technologies emerge on the horizon. 

Coaching

Coaches can reshape work by making it more engaging, humane and purposeful. Those who have a flair for mentoring and helping people to improve at things (managing their finances, managing their weight) should hone those skills.

Caring

Forward-thinking organisations will focus on making the best of people, and not just the best of technology. Workers with social intelligence and the ability to make sense of complex processes will be in high demand to improve people’s health and wellness.

Connecting

Workers with a collaborative mindset will be key to helping connect the dots in a technology-led workplace. New roles identified in the report require workers to be good at building bridges between man and machine, traditional and shadow IT, the physical and the virtual world, and commerce and ethics.

Source: Jobs of the Future Report. Graph listing the jobs of the future and mapping them to tech-centricity and likelihood of appearance over time.

Cognizant has identified 21 new job roles, with a selection below:

Role	Description	Skills needed
Artificial Intelligence (AI) Business Development Manager	Define, develop and deploy effective and targeted programmes to accelerate broad-based sales and business development activities.	Business development experience on top of experience with AI/machine-learning software platforms.
AI-Assisted Healthcare Technician	Builds close, trusting relationships with patients and makes optimal use of digital diagnosis tools and remote doctors as available.	At least three years’ experience in nursing or a related field, and be comfortable and competent dealing with software and digital testing equipment.
Cyber City Analyst	Ensure interoperable data flow to keep cities safe, secure and operational.	Data engineering qualifications in agile, DevOps and continuous integration, as well as circuitry skills, understanding of design thinking, and startup methodologies.
Quantum Machine Learning Analyst	Create new technology functionalities at the intersection of quantum information processing and machine learning.	Well-versed with quantum information processing devices, quantum data and machine learning techniques to develop well-capitalised, revenue-generating industry-specific solutions for the future.
Augmented Reality (AR) Journey Builder	Pioneers in the “experience economy”. Design, write, create, calibrate, gamify, build and personalise the next generation of classic stories and in-the-moment vignettes for viewers’ trips in AR.	Experience in gaming; proficiency with the language of AR hackathons, game jams, skins, surfaces, planes, escape rooms, software development kits,  simultaneous localisation and mapping (SLAM) and headmounted displays. Familiarity with development and design of 3D assets.
Master of Edge Computing	Define the IoT roadmap, evaluating the feasibility for establishing edge processing units.	Experience in working on IoT hardware and software, on top of a Ph.D in computer science, electronics, telecommunications, electrical engineering, or a related field.
Man-Machine Teaming Manager	Shapes the future of work and workplace within the company. The manager will design flexible experiences that meet workers’ expectations, while providing a simple and intuitive interaction with machines.	Passionate about advancing human-to-bot cooperation strategies in a dynamic business environment. Qualifications needed are graduate degrees in experimental psychology, human neuroscience techniques, robotics, plus excellent leadership, communication and collaboration skills.
Chief Trust Officer	Build trust by enforcing and encouraging transparent and responsible financial trading of cryptocurrencies with all organisational stakeholders.	Experience in cryptocurrency trading and speculation, Blockchain, traditional currency trading and public relations or marketing.
Personal Data Broker	Administers personal data assets of citizens and consumers. Ensures consumers receive revenue from their data.	Professional qualifications needed to trade on data exchanges. A high degree of curiosity for discovering alternative forms of data commercialisation through third-party APIs to other insight services, and a drive to determine data value and submit and price offers into data exchanges for trade.
Bring Your Own IT Facilitator	Enables the workforce to work better and smarter at a known level of acceptable risk by creating a system for uninterrupted visibility into on-and-off-premise environments.	A master’s degree in either IT, computer science, natural science, engineering or business admin, as well as exposure to IT demand management, business management, among others.

Details:

Read the 21 Jobs of the Future Report (PDF).

View the video introducing the 21 Jobs of the Future.

Code Halos are a ticket to business success: Cognizant

According to Cognizant Technology Solutions, the most successful businesses today are making use of a new trademarked concept called 'Code Halo' to win. Specific data include digital clicks, swipes, "likes", purchases, comments and search actions, which can be built into a unique identity or Code Halo. 

Source: Cognizant. Roehrig.

Paul Roehrig, Global Managing Director of Cognizant’s Center for the Future of Work and Co-author of Code Halos: How the Digital Lives of People, Things, and Organizations are Changing the Rules of Business, which reveals how organisations can catalyse business with Code Halo thinking, says that a growing number of businesses are finding new ways to compete with Code Halos.

"We’ve already seen early winners—for example, Google, Amazon, Pandora, and Netflix—and losers—like Kodak, HMV, and Borders. What’s exciting for business and technology leaders all over the world is that this same shift is starting to impact more traditional firms in banking, insurance, manufacturing, and retail. Public and private organisations in Asia Pacific are absolutely embracing digital transformation," he said. 

To get started at the individual level, Roehrig tells employees to maintain a 'code-friendly' mindset.

"When we work, where we work, how we work, who we work with, and how we manage are changing at a breakneck pace due to the emergence of the Code Halo economy. We devote a whole chapter to this in the book, but one of the most important recommendations is to manage your teams with code. It’s now imperative to hold yourself and your team accountable to a data-driven method of management by leveraging the massive amount of data swarming around you and your business processes," he said. 

"Information must be generated, managed, and shared openly. As we note in the book, the key is working with your team to determine your own data management supply chain: what data is important to you, how is it captured, what analytics do you utilise to understand your data, and is it utilised—and even enforced—in key portions, of your management process. Managers who ignore this trend and try to wing it or fly solely by intuition will be in for a rough time." 

The first chapter of the book can be downloaded here.