Why STEM skills will gain relevance in future jobs

There is no dearth of discussions and debates on the future of jobs, and whether automation will take away jobs or create more opportunities, and also the skills that will be in demand, and so on. But to be very honest, nobody really knows what is in store. We can only guess what the jobs of the future are going to look like. The important question is, how do we stay relevant?

Technology is already disrupting the work environment in a big way. Recently, it was reported that Amazon is planning to train one lakh workers—including those working at its warehouses— in technology skills. One of the reasons why Amazon is doing this is because many of the jobs at the bottom level of the pyramid will be taken over by machines. To use that technology and maintain it, different sets of skills will be required. To meet this need, Amazon is trying to build technology skills in its warehouse employees as well.

This means, people will now have to possess technology skills to stay relevant in the future.

“Digitisation is hitting every department. Take the HR department, for instance. We have a lot of data which can even predict how long an employee will work with us. We will need people in the HR department to analyse that data and draw conclusions from it”

It definitely makes sense. Everybody knows that technology and AI will make a big impact on the nature of future jobs. Science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) will gain popularity and become more relevant.

It is not just tech roles that will need STEM skills, but even the non-tech roles. With the help of technology, organisations will obtain a lot of data which will be used in every department, such as marketing, sales and even HR.

They will require people to analyse that data and extract conclusions that will steer the business in the right direction.

“Digitisation is hitting every department. Take the HR department, for instance. We have a lot of data which can even predict how long an employee will work with us. We will need people in the HR department to analyse that data and draw conclusions from it,” says Sharad Sharma, CHRO, DHFL Pramerica.

According to Ganesh Chandan, CHRO, Tata Projects, if the scale of business and the organisation is big, the need to use technology for survival increases.

Once you obtain that technology, you will need people to use that technology as well. “Take the FMCG sector. A company, such as Unilever— which has a diverse range of products that are sold all over the world— needs technology, such as sales forecasting, to stay ahead of the curve. To interpret that data, it will need people with STEM skills as well,” shares Chandan.

“Take the FMCG sector. A company, such as Unilever— which has a diverse range of products that are sold all over the world— needs technology, such as sales forecasting, to stay ahead of the curve. To interpret that data, it will need people with STEM skills as well”

Even those who wish to work in the non-tech roles will need to have STEM skills to understand and use technology.

“We have people coming in from MBA colleges possessing analytics skills in addition to soft skills that we require,” reveals Sharma.

To stay relevant and to grow, companies also require to make some shifts in their L&D courses. They will need to plan and embed STEM skills in their non-tech employees. A mix of arts and skills, such as creativity, with technology is going to be the key to success.

“The adaptability has to happen. People will need to adapt STEM skills to continue to stay relevant in the job market”

“The adaptability has to happen. People will need to adapt STEM skills to continue to stay relevant in the job market,” says Rajendra Mehta, chief people officer, DHFL.

Clearly, a blend of tech skills and other soft skills is required, even for non-tech roles, if you wish to be job ready for the future.