Money & Your Business

How The Global Economy Will Transform Working And Learning

Posted: 4/19/2012

Despite the recession, small businesses and solo workers have seized new opportunities.

(NAPSI)—For U.S. workers, holding a series of jobs with multiple employers is replacing the traditional, decades-long career with a single company—and that can be good news for you. To win these positions in a global market, workers must embrace new technology and skills and become lifelong learners.

A new book by the vice president and managing director of Apollo Research Institute describes the shifting nature of work and careers in America. In “Society 3.0: How Technology Is Reshaping Education, Work and Society,” Dr. Tracey Wilen-Daugenti explains how the international business environment will transform old ideas of hiring, worker skill requirements and career planning, while inspiring solo entrepreneurs to innovate in profitable new ways.

“Globalization now affects all workers and businesses,” says Dr. Wilen-Daugenti. A former Silicon Valley executive, she notes that videoconferences, virtual teams and other technology-based collaboration tools will improve efficiency and cut costs. Cultural competence and the ability to build trust in these new environments will be prime traits for leaders of international work groups.

Another new global workforce reality: American employees face overseas competition. “Significant gaps exist between the skills workers offer and those employers require,” says Dr. Wilen-Daugenti. If this deficit persists, U.S. companies risk losing business—and American jobs—to foreign firms with better-educated staff. Workers must make continuing skill renewal and education a priority to master an evolving job market.

As an alternative to serial employment, more people will go solo or launch small businesses. Self-employment has been rising—even during the recent downturn—as baby boomers choose freelancing or business ownership over traditional retirement. “America’s smallest firms and startups create the most jobs during recessions, provide half the nation’s nonfarm GDP and have provided many of its brightest technology success stories,” notes Dr. Wilen-Daugenti.

Education fuels the entrepreneurial mind-set; 95 percent of surveyed company founders held bachelor’s degrees and just under half held master’s degrees. “By starting or resuming their higher education, workers can keep their skill sets competitive or explore independent careers,” says Dr. Wilen-Daugenti. “Whether they work for themselves or not, they will be better able to innovate and develop their potential while seizing opportunities in tomorrow’s global economy.”

For more information about Society 3.0, visit www.apolloresearchinstitute.org.

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