Executive PA Australasia October November 2016 | Page 62

LEARNING
Learning will be the key driver that will shape the future of
work and our profession. Although the future is unknown and
impossible to predict, we will explore different avenues and
ways of learning that will guide and support us through this
exhilarating period of change. We will look to raise the bar
by bringing you new topics on lifelong learning, disruption
trends and future work skills. The topics will be contemporary,
academic, different and insightful with the aim of stimulating
your curiosity and widening your cultural and social capital.
BACK TO THE FUTURE
In a world where everything is changing, the biggest risk is
standing still. This new way of working means that you will
need up-to-date skills and knowledge, which will require a new
mindset as you will increasingly be called upon to reassess the
skills you need, and quickly put together the right resources
to develop and update these. We will be entering into a new
kind of partnership with machines that will build on our mutual
strengths. This will result in a new level of human–machine
collaboration.
In other words, the PAs of the future will need to continuously
learn and train to make best use of existing technologies and
to stay abreast of new technologies as they emerge.
PAs will need to be adaptable lifelong learners – lifelong
62
OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2016 | WWW.EXECUTIVEPA.COM.AU
learning and technological innovation are two forces that are
continual and interwoven. They define the workplace of the 21st
century, which requires workers to commit to lifelong learning
as a fundamental necessity and ingredient for success.
The UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES)
said in its report entitled The Future of Work: Jobs and Skills
in 2030 that: “Individuals must acquire special skills to stay
competitive, as even a high-end skill set is becoming more
and more available elsewhere in the world.”
THE FUTURE OF WORK IS NOW
The future is pervading the present and the way we respond
will be guided by the choices we make and the approaches we
develop. We can be optimistic about the role of technology and
innovation within our profession, or we can be pessimistic that
these transformations will herald the demise of our profession.
Whatever approach we take, it’s clear that new sets of skills
will be needed, and that the speed at which we learn these will
be as important as the ability to adapt and embrace change.
According to Thomas Frey, senior futurist at the DaVinci
Institute: “You will need to know how to operate a driverless
car, communicate with your boss over a smartwatch, merge
spreadsheets on a smartphone, be conversant on the latest
devices, use a telepresence room, perform or find WiFi hotspots
in the middle of a desert.” Given the speed of the technological