Section 1:The Future of Work

What will the future of work look like for our children?

The way we work is changing. Technology is rapidly evolving industries, employee expectations, and the list of skills that our kids will need to thrive. Your child’s future career might not even exist yet. But becoming fluent in technology will help them navigate the future of work and develop a rich set of skills for which there is - and always will be - demand.

Your child’s future career might not even exist yet.

The technological advancements over the past 100 years have been revolutionary. The pace of change is exponential and our ability to accurately predict what our children’s future will look like is impossible. But one thing we can be confident about is: technology will play a central role. 

In the year 2000, less than 7% of the global population was online. Today, more than half of the world has access to the internet. In fact, there are more cellphones in the world today than there are people. So, inevitably, the way in which we communicate now, the way in which businesses market themselves, the way in which we work and do an endless list of other things, has changed, especially with the advent of social media. Facebook didn’t even exist twenty years ago and now has almost 3 billion users. Nazdaq predicts that by 2040, 95% of purchases will be online, and according to Statista, by 2025, there will be 75 billion connected devices in the world. Our kids won’t see connectivity as a privilege, but as a basic right. 

Our kids won’t see connectivity as a privilege, but as a basic right.

As parents, it’s impossible to accurately predict what the future will hold for our children. The best we can do is arm them with a broad range of skills to help them succeed despite the uncertainty. Skills like collaboration, communication and creativity have always been valuable, and fluency with technology will be essential in a future that will be dominated by it. Our Guide for Raising Future-Ready Kids is designed to help you build these skills in your children, and get them ready for the future, whatever that may hold.

We’re starting to live in a hybrid world – a coming together between humans and technology. The prospect of this makes some people panic, and it’s unsurprising when tech geniuses the likes of Elon Musk state that AI is likely to overtake humans by 2025. What we foresee is a co-existence – people using technology to improve the way they live. AI and robotics will begin to pervade nearly every aspect of daily life, and developments like self-driving cars and computer chips implanted under our skin will become part of our lives soon. To our kids, they’ll be as ordinary as TVs were for us growing up. 

Hybrid work 

So many employees have quit their jobs since 2021 that this economic trend has been termed The Great Resignation. Employers wanting to retain their workers and attract new talent are being forced to listen to what employees want. For the youngest generation currently entering the workforce, Gen Z, this includes a better work-life balance, better learning and development opportunities, improved mental health and wellness support, and a greater commitment from businesses to make a positive societal impact. Most Gen Zs aren’t opposed to a corporate job, but they’re not as likely as previous generations to compromise their values for an employer. Around half report they would quit their job if it interfered with their work-life balance. They value autonomy, and almost two thirds would prefer to work for themselves in a startup.

“The team at Coco now works entirely remotely, which not only gives us all a lot more flexibility, but also means we can hire the very best people for the team, regardless of where they are in the world.”

Elizabeth Tweedale, CEO, Coco Coders

Of course, these priorities may change by the time the kids of today make a start on their careers, but the trend is certainly headed towards greater autonomy and a prioritizing of the self over the employer.  

The demand for working remotely online has significantly increased since 2020, accelerated by Covid-19. Before the pandemic, only 8% of employees in the US worked exclusively from home and around one third had a hybrid work arrangement. Fast forward to 2022 and 42% of workers have a hybrid schedule, whilst 39% work entirely from home, and the trend is expected to increase globally. 

Hybrid careers

There’s been much debate over whether employees today change careers more often than previous generations, but studies do suggest that younger generations have a shorter job tenure on average. 

So, it’s perhaps unsurprising that, according to Deloitte: 

“The future of work will call for a return of the Renaissance figure: a person with many talents, interests, and areas of knowledge. It will require a fusion of four key work skills: digital tools and technology skills, comfort with analytics and data, business management skills, design and creative skills.”

Deloitte

Author Emilie Wapnick has coined the term “multipotentialite” to describe exactly this – a person with many interests and creative pursuits. In other words, a generalist. Her TED Talk has been viewed 8 million times, and in it she explains why asking children what they want to be when they grow up implies they should only choose one thing - which can cause anxiety in children who have a plethora of interests, but also stifles their potential to develop their skills broadly and their willingness to explore new opportunities. 

Asking children what they want to be when they grow up implies they should only choose one thing

Similarly, award-winning Career Strategist at George Washington University Law School, Laura Sheehan, explains why we should view our careers as a work of art, not a ladder. Kids should be encouraged to experiment with different things and shape their careers layer after layer, into whatever they want it to be, as opposed to thinking they ought to stick to one thing and work their way up.  

The pace of technological change is too quick to expect one single “ladder” to remain relevant in a decade; 54% of the US workforce isn’t confident that the work they do will exist in 20 years. Adaptability is therefore a great strength. The advantage of being technologically fluent is undeniable. But being comfortable with tech is just the beginning. Well-prepared children are those who are well rounded with a toolbox of skills that will allow them to adapt with the future. And this is exactly what learning to code can do for them. 

Coding teaches hybrid skills 

There’s a common misperception that teaching children how to code only makes sense if you want to prepare them for a career in IT. But this is just as mistaken as saying that teaching them math only prepares them for a career in academia or that teaching them science only prepares them to work in a lab. Coding is a broad skill that involves using and thereby strengthening many others.  

Coding encourages kids to analyze a situation, identify the key components, and create processes that will solve the issue they’re dealing with. Amongst other skills, it requires critical analysis, logical problem solving and creative reasoning. Also, since most real-world projects are conducted in teams, it also requires collaboration. And it’s exactly this sort of well-rounded candidate that employers are increasingly looking for.  

“Learning to code is really about learning to solve problems. It’s such a valuable skill that applies to just about any job you can think of.”

Elizabeth Tweedale, CEO, Coco Coders

The skills gap in STEM & the call for greater diversity 

STEM refers to Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. According to consulting giant McKinsey & Company, demand for workers in STEM occupations is expected to rise with the growing need for talent who can create, deploy and maintain new technologies. Yet, careers in STEM are at the heart of the skills gap. As of 2016, the US had approximately 3 million more STEM jobs than it had workers to fill those vacancies. 

As of 2016, the US had approximately 3 million more STEM jobs than it had workers to fill those vacancies. 

As the growth in STEM jobs is expected to outpace that of non-STEM jobs in the coming years, efforts to increase diversity in STEM are beginning to take center stage, especially since STEM workers generally earn more than those in other occupations. Only 25% of STEM jobs are held by women. In the US, the STEM workforce is 89% white and 72% male, even though the overall workforce is 78% white and 53% male, according to the NSF. 

This is largely at odds with what young job seekers expect from their employer. Today, diversity and inclusion in the workplace are a requirement, and those companies who intend to attract top talent will need to walk the walk – not to mention the economic advantage that results from diverse teams. 

Companies working to improve their diversity and inclusion efforts include Apple, Facebook, and Google. Yet prominent tech companies have generally made little progress in their stated goal of hiring more minorities. At Coco Coders, we’re working to close this skills gap and boost diversity in STEM.  

We teach coding to 6-12 year olds in a way that makes technology fun and engaging, even for those kids that don’t have a strong interest in it. All of our lessons are based around creative themes - such as art, music and even magic - to make it fun and more inclusive. In contrast to the 25% female representation in STEM jobs, 60% of our students are girls. 

And, as well as building the logical and problem solving skills that come from learning to code, our award-winning curriculum is specifically designed to develop other core skills, such as creativity, communication and collaboration.

Sign your child up for a free coding lesson to see what it’s all about.