Dhanesh Balakrishnan

As we close the curtain on 2021 and eagerly anticipate with bated breath the dawn of a new year, I am constantly asked, how do you deal with a world that is filled with Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity (VUCA)? In the context of education, what should parents and students do to deal with a VUCA world? To exacerbate the situation, research indicates that many jobs in the future do not even exist today due to the explosion of technology that is taking the world by storm (World Economic Forum, 2020). Artificial intelligence, advanced technology, and the latest scientific research are slowly but surely transforming the way we learn and work.

To my mind, the answer lies in how you deal with change. It goes without saying that the only thing that is constant in life is change. You have to cultivate a mindset that clearly embraces change rather than resists change.

The following are some tips for students who want to prepare themselves for new global changes.

Acceptance

The first step that we need to cultivate is that we need to accept the fact that due to the pandemic, various changes in every aspect of our lives are inevitable. Having a growth mindset where we choose to look at changes positively is crucial in the development of students. Students should look forward to taking the initiative to constantly be curious and try different options and possibilities before arriving at a conclusion or solution. Therefore, initiative and effort are key elements that are crucial to your success.

World Economic Forum (2020) highlighted 10 important skills that students need in order to succeed in the future working environment. Some of the important skills to develop include:

1. People management

2. Complex problem solving

3. Critical Thinking

4. Creativity

5. Coordinating with others

Developing these skills will assist young graduates to be employable and the starting point is by developing a growth mindset.

Growth Mindset

Due to the rapid changes required to deal with the fourth industrial revolution, it is necessary for students to develop a growth mindset rather than a static mindset. Basically, what is necessary is that students need to be mindful of a few things. Firstly, how do they deal with challenges? To build resilience, it is important for youths to face challenges. Parents must impress upon their children that what is important is not whether they succeed, or fail. What really matters is that you try your best. Even if there are obstacles along the way, face them with confidence, and each time you fail, you get up and try again. It is said that failure is the stepping stone to success and many successful people would have failed many times before achieving their success. Failures are the building blocks that build a person’s resilience. Parents must communicate to their children that what they are looking for is the effort they place into their work rather than the success. If parents place too much emphasis on the importance of success, it may create a sense of unwarranted pressure on the child. Further, instead of praising them for their intelligence, it is better to praise them for their effort. Praising a child for their intelligence may create a false sense of insecurity and vanity which may not hold the individual in good stead. There is a false expectation in the child that they are expected to know because they have been branded intelligent. They may be reluctant to admit that they are unaware of something. Rather they may choose to avoid obstacles for fear of failure or fear of meeting the expectations of their parents or elders.

The growth mindset also deals with the important issue of how students deal with criticism? A person with a static mindset will view criticism negatively and will immediately put up a defensive mechanism to justify their actions. On the other hand, a person with a growth mindset will view criticism constructively. They will perceive criticism to further improve themselves by accepting and evaluating the criticism to make themselves better.

The growth mindset also emphasizes the importance of dealing with criticisms constructively. Young people should be nurtured to welcome criticism as it is a way to develop self-mastery. Students who take criticisms constructively and learn from their mistakes will progress well in their journey of self-discovery. On the other hand, a person who has a static mindset will tend to be defensive when faced with criticisms. They will find excuses and try their best to justify their actions. In the process their growth becomes stunted.

Cultivate technological, social, and emotional development

I have also noticed that many universities and corporations are placing so much importance on technological skills and advancement. Though this is admittedly necessary for the current digital era, emphasis should also be placed on the need to nurture the student’s emotional and social development. Many students today face difficulty dealing with face-to-face communication. Young teenagers are more comfortable texting rather than having face-to-face conversations with their peers or their parents. You will find that many students are socially inadequate and would rather immerse themselves in technology. This is something that needs to be addressed. Parents must take the trouble to encourage their children to face their fears and engage in face-to-face communication to rid them of their social inadequacies. For teenagers to be emotionally strong, they must be given sufficient challenges to build their resilience from young. If parents do not provide the necessary challenges, it will be an arduous task for them to gain the resilience they need to face a world filled with many difficult challenges.

In summary, parents and teachers must work together to provide the right tools to develop the resilience necessary for them to be employable. Today, many fresh graduates are having difficulties getting decent jobs. It is not because there is no employment. The fact is that employers are frustrated when they interview candidates who demonstrate very poor soft skills and lack a positive attitude during the interview session. They are not able to brand themselves confidently and many do not do their research to prepare for the interview accordingly. To succeed one must have the right attitude, willingness to learn and unlearn and show a genuine hunger to improve themselves. Therefore, to ride the VUCA wave, where there is going to be constant volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity, it is submitted that the answer lies in developing a strong mindset that embraces change and challenges, and being flexible and agile will help them steer themselves from any situation that the world hurls at them.

Source: Future of Jobs Report 2020, World Economic Forum