Fifty years ago, the life expectancy for a Forbes 500 company was 75 years. Now it’s a mere 15 years. What happened to longevity?
It may have been a feature of the Baby Boomer era but it certainly isn't with us in the year 2015.
Baby boomers enjoyed workplace luxuries like job security and long service leave. This was the age when hard work was rewarded.
Today hard work just isn't enough. In fact, the reason hard work isn't valued is because it is simply expected; this is the age of mobility and being switched on 24 x 7.
The kind of skills that are valued today include the ability to think outside the box, the ability to innovate. It fits the fast moving business climate of today to have a nimble workforce that can keep pace with market dynamics that are driven by constant change.
Back in my day (I know I sound like grandma) if a person changed careers we called it a midlife crisis. A Millenial will change careers five times during their working life. But what will these careers be?
According to CEDA more than five million jobs (or 40 per cent of the Australian workforce) that exists today, have a high likelihood of disappearing in the next 10 to 15 years due to technological advancements.
CEDA chief executive, Professor Stephen Martin, said new jobs and industries will emerge but if Australia is not planning and investing in the right areas we will get left behind.
He said the pace of technological advancement in the last 20 years has been unprecedented and that pace is likely to continue for the next 20 years.
“We need to get serious about how we invest in driving innovation.We also need to consider how we deal with reskilling workers as particular fields of employment disappear.”
Clearly longevity will not being making a comeback. The only way forward is to embrace innovation which is exactly what we will be doing at the CCN Live breafast on August 14, 2015.
Get your tickets at www.climatecontrolnews.com.au/ccn-live and while you are online check out CCN Videos. That's right Australia's HVACR industry now has its very own news source delivered via video.