Industrial revolution 4.0 and disruptive learning- Learning {re}Imagined

Alvin Toffler in his book Future Shock (1970) posited, “The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn”.

Toffler wasn’t suggesting that reading and writing would become unimportant; he was emphasizing that in times of rapid change in an uncertain future the most valuable skill would be learning how to learn rather than simply reciting a set of facts and procedures.

The next industrial revolution promises much development and creativity in the areas of learning and development.

This includes both how it is achieved but also what it needs to address (approach and content).  A few key principles of L&D, however, remain consistent:

• For corporate leaders, what the L&D strategy and approach, needs to achieve must be linked to business strategy. The key, however, is not just about what initiatives to push but rather what shifts in behaviour these will achieve and how these new behaviours will push the business toward excellence.
• A 2018 international Deloitte survey found that so-called ‘soft skills’ will become a critical future priority and more than 80% of the respondents indicated that Generation Z is increasingly tech savvy but may lack the soft skills required in a digital world.
• Employee development remains a key benefit and retention tool but needs to be more learner-centric as opposed to content centric
• A LinkedIn study found ‘learning-on-demand’ to be essential as the biggest challenge respondents found in L&D was making time for training and development- we need to take learning to where people are.

Comments are welcomed and contributions can be sent to cleo@siopsa.org.za. Better yet, submit an abstract or paper to share your insights on this topic at the 21^st  Annual SIOPSA conference.