Industry 4.0 is the outcome of the natural progression of industry to its current avatar. From the time of the industrial revolution to the electronic age to the digital age and what now includes Internet of Things, Big Data & Analytics and the overall shift towards incorporation of cloud, internet and technology in every sphere. So, how does Industry 4.0 relate to you as a student and as a parent. As a new era has dawned, the students are working to make it big while parents struggle to understand the evolution of industry and its impact on their children’s choices. Here is a gist of things that matter:

Employability: There is a gap between the courses students opt for and the skills that are employable. Hence, unemployability of even highly educated students is a big problem. Not just in terms of financial drain but also in terms of creating a work force ready to do the jobs of the immediate future. The need of the hour for parents and students alike is to study trends for what is employable and what is a fading trend. The trend for employability has shifted from just degrees to value that a person adds to an enterprise.

Value: More than the degrees, corporates are valuing soft skills when they complement degrees. According to the World Economic Forum, the most valuable skills in 2020 are going to be Complex Problem Solving, Critical Thinking, Creativity, People Management, Coordinating with others, Emotional Intelligence, Judgement & Decision Making, Service Orientation, Negotiation and Cognitive Flexibility.  These are skills that you nurture over the years through conscious practice. 

Relevance: Around the turn of the last century, the speculative investments on the IT companies tanked, referred to as the Dot-Com bubble burst. Though it sent out a message that the market had peaked, the ones that survived the burst are now giants such as Amazon & Google. Information Technology is one of the most lucrative career options with its uses spanning every industry and career there is. According to various trend predictions, Finance and Commerce will stay very much in demand as will Hotel Management, Law Management and Mass Communication. 

Skill Combinations: Artificial intelligence and cloud computing have permeated all industry and it is really important to be technology aware and adept to be able to survive the competition. Super-specialities and basic skills like team skills, leadership, emotional intelligence, negotiation skills and the like are becoming very sought after. 

Flexibility: Understand that as we are in the Fourth Industrial Revolution which has spawned advanced robotics, artificial intelligence, advanced materials, biotechnology and genomics. Jobs are not going to be obsolete and taken over by robots, but they will require one to be flexible in their approach to their scope of work. 

Learning: Being on a learning curve to learn new skills to be at par with the next stream of college graduates prepping for the next big wave of industry has become a must. Alvin Toffler, writer, futurist, and businessman, said, “The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.” The new world skills you would be required to learn are learning itself, analysing, trend spotting and communication.