The Perpetual Motion of Skilling
I often hear the term “skill gap” discussed as if it were a newly discovered chasm. Every few years, we find ourselves in a national conversation about empowering the youth and preparing them for the jobs of the future. While the intention is noble, I believe the framing is flawed. We are not merely filling a gap; we are trying to keep pace with a fundamental, technology-driven restructuring of the very concept of ‘work’.
The challenge isn't just about what skills are needed, but where and how they will be deployed. The pandemic accelerated a trend I have been observing for over a decade: the decoupling of work from a physical office. The future of work is not about commuting to a building; it's about connecting to a network.
A Look Back at a Predicted Future
The core idea I want to convey is this — I find it striking to look back at my writings from years ago and see the seeds of our current reality. In 2017, I wrote about a future where rising protectionism and shrinking global job mobility would necessitate a new way of thinking. In a piece titled, "Wormholes across the World ?", I discussed how technology could create digital windows, or ‘wormholes’, that connect talent across continents, rendering physical borders increasingly irrelevant for knowledge work.
I was fascinated by the work of individuals like Nigel Dalton (nigel.dalton@thoughtworks.com) at REA Group, who implemented always-on video links between offices in Australia and China. This wasn't just a video call; it was a persistent, virtual presence. I had already predicted this type of evolution and proposed a solution at the time, envisioning India as the "BackFactory of the World ?". This vision was never about cheap labor; it was about positioning our immense intellectual capital at the center of a global, remote workforce. Reflecting on it today, I feel a sense of validation and a renewed urgency. Those earlier ideas are no longer futuristic—they are the blueprint for our present.
Empowering Youth for a Virtual World
So, how do we empower our youth? Not by training them for the factories of the 20th century, but by equipping them to be citizens of this borderless, digital economy.
- Collaboration Over Communication: The skill is not just using a tool like Slack or Zoom, but mastering seamless, asynchronous collaboration with teams scattered across time zones.
- Virtual Dexterity: We must embrace augmented and virtual reality not as gaming tools, but as essential platforms for training, design, and problem-solving. Imagine an apprentice in rural India being trained by a master technician in Germany through AR glasses.
- Data Literacy as a Language: Understanding and interpreting data is the new literacy. AI and machine learning are the tools, but critical thinking and analytical skills are what give them power.
Our mission cannot be just to “tackle skill gaps.” It must be to build the infrastructure—both technological and educational—that allows our youth to step through these digital wormholes and claim their place in the world, without ever needing a visa.
Regards,
Hemen Parekh
Of course, if you wish, you can debate this topic with my Virtual Avatar at : hemenparekh.ai
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