Universities throughout history have shaped and been shaped by catalytic developments in society, including scientific and technological revolutions, wars, colonialism, globalisation and pandemics. Currently, the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) and the Covid-19 pandemic are having a massive impact on the future of work.
Universities need to play a central role in society and graduate preparedness, ensuring that their students are appropriately skilled for a work world where 85% of the jobs they will enter into have not been invented yet. Given the critical importance of this task, the University of Pretoria (UP) was proud to recently launch its Centre for the Future of Work, which will collaboratively produce transdisciplinary research to advance the knowledge field of the future of work to the benefit of South Africa, Africa and the rest of the international community.
Education authors worldwide concur that current educational systems and qualifications will become dated and obsolete with increasing rapidity. UP has already made considerable inroads into ascertaining which essential skills need to be developed for its graduates to actualise themselves and function optimally in the workplace, as well as to contribute to the developmental aspirations of South Africa and Africa.
The university has incorporated a rich curriculum which includes fundamental and foundational skills in mathematics, stochastics, programming, electronics and other STEM-based disciplines. This will prepare graduates for an exhilarating landscape that features artificial intelligence, robotics, the internet of things and big data - including powers whose significant impact on the trajectories of work can only be imagined right now. Additionally, UP has the Multichoice-funded Chair in Machine Learning, which will help grow the country’s pool of talent in AI, machine learning and cybersecurity for the digital future.
The university also focuses on soft skills such as problem-solving and critical thinking, which are necessary in an ever-changing information society, along with aspects pertaining to professional practice, communication skills, ethics, human values as well as environmental and social responsibility.
UP students are actively encouraged to acquire the habit of lifelong learning – a continuous aspiration for learning and for taking responsibility for the ongoing, voluntary and self-motivated pursuit of knowledge. This is not only desirable in terms of the great satisfaction it brings, it is also necessary for survival, given that the skills a graduate will need for their first job will inevitably become obsolete, and they will need to constantly re-skill and up-skill in order to maintain their employability.
This future job market will certainly be increasingly dominated by the gig economy – temporary and freelance positions driven both by necessity, due to job scarcity, as well as by the appeal of a more balanced and flexible lifestyle preferred by millennials. Skills such as entrepreneurship, marketing, strategic thinking and using social media effectively will all become the norm as people look for work opportunities rather than a job - and these are skills that UP emphasises.
Entrepreneurship - now widely recognised as being just as important as postgraduate studies - is a major driver of innovation and job creation. Through TuksNovation, a non-profit company owned by the University of Pretoria, high-tech job creations developed by students are given support for their incubation and development, as well as opportunities for commercialisation of the technology with industry partners, venture capitalists and other funding agencies. This is in collaboration with the Department of Small Business, Department of Trade and Industry and the Small Enterprise Development Agency.
There is so much potential. As just one example, UP Chemical Engineering PhD Dr Mthokozisi Sibanda founded African Applied Chemical (Pty) Ltd and through TuksNovation patented its breakthrough long-lasting insect repellent fabric technology called BiKoRepellent Fabric® Technology. Products include anklets, bracelets, socks, personal care and mosquito nets. Sibanda is currently working on an agreement with a research group to finalise the development of the mosquito nets, which will allow for the product to be submitted to the World Health Organisation for accreditation. Malaria is a leading cause of death on the continent and this innovation has huge social impact and growth potential.
Growing the local tech side through micro and small businesses with local communities is another essential engagement focus area, to enable people who do not have the benefit of education to create self-employment. Given the issue of food scarcity for the future, UP is also on a drive in agriculture – mainly micro farming of vegetables for food security through a new internship from South Africa’s agriculture sector training authority (AgriSETA). The goal is for these initiatives to be sustainable with strong established markets. These include the university’s student population, local early childhood development centres, retail stores and hawkers, creating a value chain in the local communities. It is very encouraging is to see how many young people are interested in farming again.
The combination of a highly skilled, future-fit pool of graduates together with social and community impact serves the crusade of the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), namely to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all as part of a new sustainable development agenda. SDG 8 calls for the promotion of sustained and inclusive economic growth, and for “full and productive employment and decent work for all”.
While this is a gigantic, highly stimulating challenge, UP believes that “how we achieve it is in our hands - and we need to make our actions today matter, for the sake of tomorrow.”
Read more about the University of Pretoria here.