Last week saw Sri Lankan businesses recapture a semblance of normalcy as their employees started returning to work following the curfew imposed due to Covid-19. However, many industries in the country have been changed for good, and this includes a change in the type of skills many companies will look for when hiring post Covid. According to Dialog Axiata PLC Group Chief Operating Officer (COO) Dr. Rainer Deutschmann, a study conducted by Mckinsey Global Institute showcased that this shift was already on the way, even before the outbreak. It stated that many jobs requiring physical and manual work and those deemed repetitive will be replaced by robotic automation, while new jobs requiring a newer set of skills will open up to the people. During a webinar on “Careers for Sri Lankan youth in the post-Covid-19 world”, conducted by the Rotaract Club of the University of Moratuwa on 11 May, Dr. Deutschmann stated that the youth will have a better opportunity to change their path and adapt to these skills in order to jump into the jobs that are in demand. These skills include higher cognitive skills, social and emotional skills, and technological skills. Similar to Dr. Deutschmann, John Keells Holdings (JKH) Executive Vice President, Chief People Officer, and Head of Sustainability Isuru Gunasekera stated at the forum that while sectors such as healthcare, digital and content marketing, finance, and IT-related fields are favoured to be some career paths that are in immediate demand post Covid, people must move away from looking at resilient career paths and instead look at reskilling themselves. Tech skills With businesses depending on technological aspects such as AI (artificial intelligence), big data, AR (augmented reality), and robotics, to make them more resilient in the future, Gunasekera suggested that being tech savvy would be another key skill to make oneself more marketable. “This pandemic has fast-tracked the technological transformations of many companies. Therefore, anyone who can help these companies exploit these technologies will be in a great position,” Gunasekera noted. These technological skills also include being skilled in data literacy. Gunasekera explained that the right data companies will be able to predict future disruptions and be able to better serve their customers. However, this data is useless to these companies unless they have data literacy and therefore, professionals equipped with the skills to understand data will be more appealing to employers in the future. Dr. Deutschmann agreed with this, stating that from a telecommunications perspective, their industry is becoming a software industry and are not finding enough people who have software and analytical skills who are able to apply those skills in a business environment. He explained that the future workforce of the country should be open to learning software skills, such as front-end, mid-end, or back-end development. From an analytics point of view, Dr. Deutschmann stated that the company is not only looking for data scientists and data engineers, but also data translators, who are people knowledgeable in analytics as well as in the business domain. He went on to state that these data translators can be part of other industries too, including manufacturing, FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods), and financial and insurance services. The duo noted: “The point is to get the business problems cast into analytics requirements and solve the business problems.” Gunasekera stated that other technological skills which will garner demand are digital and coding skills. He explained that with the transformation seen during the outbreak, professionals with digital skills such as coding, web development, and digital marketing will be more in demand. “People who can keep digital businesses running through an economic downturn are going to be on that must-hire list. Given that most companies are digitally based in some way, opportunities for digital skills will be countless,” he said. Human ingenuity Apart from technology, the outbreak also showcased the importance of businesses being creative and innovative, as many businesses including supermarkets switched to delivery services and shifted to new products in order to weather the storm. According to Gunasekera, this is the third set of skills companies would look at when hiring employees, due to a need for human ingenuity; to invent new products and be critical to the workforce. He explained that post Covid, businesses will be looking more towards the soft skills of their potential hirings, rather than the hard skills which are not difficult to find in the current environment. Based on the prediction that future workforces will expand in size and working from home might be a more practical option for most companies, more people on different levels of an organisation will be tasked with leadership roles. Gunasekera stated that this makes leadership another must-have skill, as people will work in more fluent and fluid teams, with shared responsibilities and shifting leadership positions. “Professionals with strong leadership skills, including those who know how to bring the best out of the team and encourage collaboration in a remote working environment, will also see a lot of demand,” he noted. He went on to state that this will lead to a need for emotional intelligence as well, since people are going to be working from a work environment with less in-person connections. This will further emphasise the need for employees to be able to inspire and motivate others through newer forms of connections. Finally, Gunasekera stated that something that is going to matter throughout all the industries is one’s professional presence, with how potential employees present and articulate themselves also playing a huge role in the hiring process. He explained that most of these skills have always been somewhat of a deciding factor when entering a workforce, but post Covid, these soft skills will be some key aspects companies look at when hiring, which would really help these companies take off in the long run. Adaptability Gunasekera stated that one of the main skills the youth of Sri Lanka should aim to master is adaptability. He explained that people looking to succeed in a post-Covid world will need to be able to adapt to a frequently evolving workplace and possess the ability to continuously update and refresh their skill set by committing to a lifetime of learning. “Access to jobs is not what is important for the youth in an environment like this one. What they should focus on are their overall skills and being adaptive; this is what they need to find a career. We need to move away from critically looking at what jobs and careers are waiting for us and look at the areas we need to focus on which can be moulded, and then adapt to all these areas, because that is what is going to give you the best chance of employment,” Gunasekera noted. Adding to this, Hemas Pharmaceuticals Managing Director Kasturi Chellaraja Wilson, who was also at the forum, stated that even from a healthcare perspective, skills such as adaptability will play a huge role in one’s career. She explained that despite healthcare being an essential and resilient industry, people need to be able to capitalise on the gaps in the market. Wilson stated that post Covid, the change in consumer behavior and the different channels through which they consume these healthcare services will be what leads to innovation in the industry. Therefore, the industry is going to give opportunities for those skilled in adaptability and technology. “You should be agile, you should be creative and adaptive, you should not hold on to one technical space and say that ‘I am of this profession so I can’t think about these other skills’. With regard to healthcare or any other business, you will have to think about how you can capitalise on the new trends that come up,” Wilson said. Dr. Deutschmann added that there is only one way to remain relevant in a post-Covid reality; commit to a lifetime of learning. When faced with a tight job market, professionals with advanced and expert job skills will still be in demand and will likely struggle less to find employment, he noted, adding: “Even though there is ample opportunity for everyone, it is not easy. You need to know your stuff and that means studying is required, and you need practical applications through things like internships. You need to have deep knowledge of a domain and you need to be able to work in a team. So you can never stop learning, because most industries are based on technology, and technology is constantly changing.”