Telling your kids that the future of work will be about job skills

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Rising skills signal tech transformation in industries in the Philippines: LinkedIn studyMy good friend asked me what I should tell her son who is interested to pursue digital marketing. I have already written on Emerging jobs in the Philippines reveal growing demand for talent with hybrid skills. One must understand what skills to look for instead of job titles. Digital competence,  is composed of a blend of hard and soft skills. There are many possible ways to develop skills on digital competency. I shared the current report of LinkedIN‘ s Future of Skills 2019 Report, which identifies the top 10 rising skills of LinkedIn members in the region over the last 5 years. LinkedIN looked at the skills listed by members with the highest month-on-month growth. As part of the report, LinkedIn also conducted a deep dive into employees’ readiness to tackle the future workforce and how L&D professionals are responding to the skills transformation.

Remember, World Economic Forum reveals 65% percent of children entering primary school will end up in jobs that don’t yet exist. So if you have kids wondering what skills to pursue, let them be aware of the future of work and the skills required in traditional industries.

Anticipating rising skills to ensure businesses stay competitive

As traditional industries adopt new technology and ride the wave of digital transformation to improve operations and introduce new products and services, it is unsurprising that the top rising skills in APAC are dominated by technology-related skills.

These rising skills can be used as a signpost for organisations to determine how the industry is innovating and transforming, and help their employees cope with the pace of change through upskilling. 

The report also studied the top three rising skill categories in each country that are more prevalent compared to the APAC average. These are the skills that have a higher prominence in the Philippines compared to the region:

Rising skill What do professionals with these skills do? Examples of occupations with these skills
Social media marketing Promoting products and/ or services through social media platforms to achieve business goals   • Digital Marketing Specialist • Marketing Manager • Social Media Marketing Specialist  
Frontend Web Development   Converting data to?a graphical interface to build websites?or web apps   • Frontend Developer • Full Stack Engineer  • Web Developer  
Human-Centred Design   Developing solutions to problems with a deep focus of understanding the human perspective in all steps of the process   • Graphics Designer? • Product Designer? • User Experience Designer  

Feon Ang, Vice President for Talent and Learning Solutions, Asia Pacific, LinkedIn shares: “As digitalisation continues to transform the workforce at a rapid speed, certain skills are becoming less in-demand simply because different skill sets are required to navigate such transformation. It is therefore important for organisations to have a deep understanding of their current talent pool, and how to evolve it for their long-term business goals. Helping current talent to upskill or reskill early can help organisations ensure that their future talent needs are met.”

“While we encourage organisations to tap on real-time data and insights to help inform them about trends in the talent marketplace, we also believe that embracing a culture of learning is just as important for organisations to remain resilient amidst a rapidly changing workforce,” said Ang.“At the same time, employees need to be empowered and motivated to learn on their own terms, given difficulties in finding time and accessing opportunities.”

Encourage our children to develop hard and soft skills even outside their education. The future of work won’t be about degrees says Stephane Kasriel, Upwork CEO . “More and more, it’ll be about skills. And no one school, whether it be Harvard, General Assembly or Udacity, can ever insulate us from the unpredictability of technological progression and disruption.”

Kaspersky Safe Kids

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Kaspersky strongly advises Filipino parents to keep a closer eye on their children’s online activities on the heels of soaring web threats the company has been monitoring in the country. From its latest data, the cybersecurity company confirmed that 82.46% of web threats from January to December 2018 have attempted to attack home users in the Philippines.

The global cybersecurity company also recorded over a 230% increase on annual web-based infections in the Philippines for 2018 at 31,887,231 versus 2017’s 9,487,775. These web threats were scanned and blocked by Kaspersky Lab products when its users accessed websites or downloaded online files.

About 33.39% of the country’s population currently make up the 0-14 age group while 19.16% comprise the 15-25 age bracket according to statistics from data portal IndexMundi.

Latest data from the cybersecurity company revealed that the following categories of websites were the most popular among Filipino children, which they have either visited or attempted to visit from their computers:

1. software, audio and video – 42.04%

2. internet communication sites (social networks, messengers, chats, and online forums) – 29.17%%

3. e-commerce (online stores) – 16.04%

4. news – 4.76%

5. computer games – 3.76%

Gathered from May 2018 to May 2019, the report confirms that kids are now fast moving towards the use of mobile devices for their online activities instead of using computers.

“The younger set is undeniably the most connected of all age groups today. Some even have their digital presence laid down long before they are even born — the consequence of our inherent nature of sharing that has crossed over to the internet world. And when these kids get older, they exhibit curiosity, another primitive instinct, but which they do online albeit carelessly. Just as the internet has been used to empower individuals, communities and nations, so too can it be used to destroy reputations, steal identities and hurt the vulnerable, particularly our children,” said Yeo Siang Tiong, General Manager for Kaspersky Southeast Asia.

“When it comes to kids’ online safety though, we recommend that parents should step in so that the balance is tipped for good. By staying in constant contact with them plus getting a little help from advanced security solutions, parents can continue to harness the positive benefits of the internet and keep their children safe from online dangers simultaneously,” he said.

In the Philippines, mobile broadband is becoming more affordable than fixed broadband and it’s one of the countries where Facebook offers its Free Basics service which allows users to get free access or what Filipinos refer to as “free data”. This enables anyone in the country with an internet-ready mobile phone to access the web instantly and without limits. Recent figures show Filipinos surf the net from two to 10 hours daily.

“As a cyber security professional and soon-to-be-dad myself, the online security of my child is surely going to be one of my foremost concerns. We’re lucky that, as modern-day parents, we’re now presented with an array of tools to safeguard our children from online threats so parenting becomes easier. We don’t need to protect them the old-fashioned way anymore! Kaspersky Safe Kids is one solution that empowers parents to be fully aware of their kids’ online activities without the need to check their devices frequently and still respecting the children’s privacy,” said Eunice Quilantang, Pre-Sales Manager for Kaspersky Southeast Asia.    

Kaspersky Safe Kids is a feature in Kaspersky Total Security (KTS). With this module, parents can now:

  1. Manage the child’s screen time
  2. View the child’s location using a GPS tracker with a real-time online map
  3. Know the child’s device battery level so they can be warned to recharge the device
  4. Monitor their public Facebook activity
  5. Block access to adult websites and content for most platforms

Kaspersky Total Security is available online at https:/www.kaspersky.com at P2,764 (1 device for 1 year), P3,801 (1 device for 2 years) and P3,455 (3 devices for 1 year).  KTS can also be purchased from the on-demand subscription service through telco company Smart where a single license costs P30 for 7days (Text KTS30 to 8933) and P120 for 30 days (Text KTS120 to 8933).

Below are top tips from experts at Kaspersky for parents to help internet-proof children:

1. Have the talk regularly. Be involved in children’s online activities from an early age so this is the established norm. Encourage communication so you can both learn from each other and to help build mutual trust.

2. Set boundaries. Ensure that children know what is acceptable and what is not. Also make them aware of the consequences of going somewhere that they shouldn’t or using tech when they shouldn’t be. This should be reviewed as child gets older.

3. Use available resources.  Understand that there’s a lot of help as you raise digital children. Use the resources provided by some companies or organizations such as parental control software as well as tips and techniques to better manage kids who use digital devices. Also remember that not everyone has the same parenting style and that is OK — pick and choose what is right for you and your family. If a situation ever seems like it is going out of control, especially with cyberbullying or pedophiles, remember that you can get help from the local law enforcement agency.

Moving forward

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Public outrage this past week focused on the decision of the Philippine Science High School (PSHS) on six of its students “in possession of ‘voyeuristic’ images of PSHS female students which had been uploaded and shared online without the victims’ consent.” Parents, teachers, students and concerned citizens protested against the Board of Trustees’ initial decision to allow all six students to attend the graduation ceremony, even after two school committees recommended against it. The PSHS board reversed its decision a few days later, by not allowing the six students involved in the controversy to march at the graduation rites on May 29. Three students would receive their diplomas, while three would only get certificates of completion of the six-year program.

I recall a similar indignation in 2012 when five high school students from St. Theresa’s College (STC) Cebu, were prohibited from joining their graduation rites. Five students involved in the controversy uploaded photos on Facebook showing them in bikinis and with alcohol and cigarettes. They could not take part in the baccalaureate Mass and the graduation rites that would have capped their high school lives. The school based the sanction imposed on the students on the provisions in the STC Handbook. One rule stipulates that students should not be “posing and uploading pictures on the internet that entail ample body exposure.” Having studied in STC Cebu, I am aware of how strict the school could be. The vagueness of “ample body exposure” leaves the interpretation up to whoever is looking at the pictures. This allows school authorities such a broad latitude and allows for arbitrariness, the subject of controversy. The students also said they “were deeply hurt and cried” after being scolded by the officials whom they accused of humiliating them with abusive language, calling them “easy, drunks and addicts.”

Two years later, the Supreme Court Third Division denied a petition for the issuance of a writ of habeas data filed by parents of two of the five sanctioned students. In resolving the case, high court also reminded social networking users to be cautious and aware of the risks they expose themselves to when they engage in cyberspace activities. “Information, otherwise private, voluntarily surrendered by them could be opened, read or copied by third parties who may or may not be allowed access to such,” the Supreme Court added.Advertisements

These two incidents are similar in the sense that both involved students violating the schools’ student’s code of conduct. But the PSHS issue is different since it could involve a violation of Republic Act 9995 Anti-Photo and Video Voyeurism Act of 2009 or the “Anti-Photo and Video……” if the victims file a case. My friend, Michelle Estor raised a question: “What does is it say about us as parents, as decision makers, and as a society, when young women who are judged as immoral for the clothes they wear and for their foolish decisions suffer the exact same punishment as these sexual predators, who not only betrayed the trust of friends, but who actually committed crimes and violated laws? if not for the relentless vigilance of the students, the parents, and the alumni, these predators would have been marching now in the same hall where their victims would have cowered in unjustified shame.”

The STC Cebu girls in 2012 didn’t stand a chance.

What I find disappointing is the statement of PSHS. The PSHS Board urged the media and the public “to respect the privacy and maintain the dignity of our scholars and not aggravate the issue further, which unnecessarily puts those children’s future at risk.”

Sorry, PSHS Board of Trustees, “Sexual misconduct and harassment are not private issues, they are problems that everyone faces,” Betty Romero, my other friend, called out.  For every sexual predator, a mother, father, friend, school or a community enabled, tolerated or allowed them to go unpunished. While the names of the students should remain private, what happened at PSHS needs to become part of a national conversation. This is to ensure the future and safety of all young women and men, not just PSHS students.

The Board added that, “Everyone should move forward from this incident and provide the needed support to the students and the PSHS community.” The way to move forward is continuing the conversations, no matter how difficult it is. Education and awareness on the consequences to both girls and boys in such situations must continue. My friend adds that “there is a need to keep this topic alive until things change, until victim blaming stops, until young men realize that they should never share photos of the young women who trust them.”