Today’s life path requires us to learn more new things than a traditional education can possibly prepare us for. This is why we often see employee education and development programs appear in organizations to not only build contextual knowledge but also prepare people for changing roles. However, given the average tenure of jobs around 3.5 to 4 years, we should also consider the reality of voluntary and involuntary unemployment. The speed of knowledge becoming outdated and replaced is the other sword of Damocles over the traditional life path.
Via Kenneth Mikkelsen
We all need to be prepared to move more frequently through being in states of safety, learning and contributing. The implications are significant.
This implies that we should be spreading our education models in between periods of work, rather than lock ourselves in fixed multiyear education programs.
This also implies we shouldn’t simply save for retirement, but for periods of unemployment. We would need healthcare, liability and other insurances that lives with us, rather follow where we are employed. Our basic model of the social compact today would require a significant overhaul to support this alternative life path.