Have a beautiful last Friday of March 2022! Today´s subject is “Skills of the halted workforce and consequences of losing them”. This topic is in the context of a remote performance, experienced by many during the pandemic of COVID-19. In addition, we will explore what has happened during the last 30 years, once the Internet began its immersion power into our life, and little by little started to be ubiquitous for everyone. We will be direct to the point on what we are losing with the utilization of the NAIQIs, and what will happen to the workforce in the middle of an obligatory spiral of technology innovation, led by artificial intelligence, data analytics, and machine learning.

I would like you to read the following introductory slides that we have prepared for you today:

Please download your material in PDF and print it if you wish:

Difference between skills, abilities, and competencies: A skill is a proficiency, facility, or dexterity that is acquired or developed through training (formal-semiformal and informal) and experience. An ability is an inclination or suitability for a specified action or condition, which is being able to do something. Competence is a state or condition of being adequately, properly, or well qualified in a compounded way. Competence is a composite or amalgam definition, it embraces a specific range of skills, knowledge, and abilities.

With the last definitions on the table, we have limited our today´s article to the word “skills”, because we consider that skills are the building block in which ability and competence are set.

Skills of the 21st century. Let´s see which are the skills that we need to be part of the workforce in this century and beyond:

1. Cognitive Skills: These are the skills that encompass the ability to understand complex ideas, adapt effectively to the environment, learn from experience, and reason. Foundational literacy and numeracy as well as creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving are cognitive skills.  
2. Socio-emotional skills: describe the ability to navigate interpersonal and social situations effectively and include leadership, teamwork, self-control, and grit or perseverance. In this section we also need to include emotional regulation (how to master stress, keep optimism, and emotional control); collaboration and solidarity (empathy, trust, and cooperation); tolerance, engaging with others (sociability, assertiveness style and energy management).  We also include here the communication and interaction skills; the self-organization sills, the awareness and conscientiousness; and finally, how we manage and supervise others.
3. Technical skills: refer to the acquired knowledge, expertise, and interactions needed to perform a specific task, including the mastery of required materials, tools, or technologies. This is the most technological and methodological set of skills that can range from scientific, industrial, mechanical up to specialized and precise for each industry or economic sector.
4. Digital skills: which are cross-cutting and drawing on all the above skills, describe the ability to access, manage, understand, integrate, communicate, evaluate, and create information safely and appropriately in digital platforms conceived or (generated) to be used in screens (computer, tablets, smartphones, etc). The digital skills are based on two main pillars: the software-hardware technological platforms or programs and the know-how to do/perform activities using these platforms. Digital skills are widely ample: As simple as to use WhatsApp or send an email, up to make videos with different features and complexities or frequent usage of banking, selling-buying on-line or programming applications.
5. Physical skills: These are the skills related to physical activities required in different industries, particularly performed repetitively under a routine. In addition, these are linked to manual accuracy associated to the hand-fingers to make, produce, and do things in an artisan or automated way. We also include here all the skills required in each sport discipline and arts related to physical training such as dancing, theater performs, dexterity to play real-life instruments, and any other activity that requires physical involvement.
6. Spiritual Skills: These are the skills concerned with or affecting the soul. These are usually wrongly defined as a religion, when in reality is about relating to or having the nature of a God´s spiritual backbone that aid the workforce to keep together the mind, will and feelings under God´s essence power. The spiritual skills are observed in living the ethical or moral values, vital to our living as members of a community.

Which are the skills of the halted workforce affected by the NAIQIs-Giga Era?

The skills that have been impacted since the arrival of the Internet to our civilization are all the above. But mainly the ones that we (as a civilization) have begun to lose, or are inevitably lost for the digital natives (those born after the year 2000) are the cognitive, socio-emotional, physical, and spiritual skills.

There are several teams of scientists currently trying to get sponsorships to study the impact of the Internet on our brains. They are in the middle of trying to offer us scientific evidence on what we already perceive with the younger generations. All of us, who play the role of supervisors (managers) of people can see it quotidianly when we guide the recent graduates from universities. We do whatever we can (look I am also including music here) to try to get their awareness and attention so they can learn to think properly. I am sure all managers on earth who are reading this article, know by heart and experience, how the Internet and the digital expansion of communications are affecting the brains of the youngest in several areas:

1. Attention
2. Memory and knowledge consciousness
3. Social Cognition
4. Emotional skills

Nevertheless, no matter what these new studies will come up with, we are certainly convinced that the NAIQIs-Giga era is influencing our brains in everything we do, making our brains lazy, incapable of a sustained focus, addicted to data gathering through online tools and devices. The majority of children and adolescents who are categorized as digital-born natives; are lacking the cognitive, socio-emotional, physical, and spiritual skills, much required once they will begin to work, no matter if in a digital transformation context or not. Once generation X is gone in some decades from now, the following generations won´t be able to give answers to the multiplicity of issues or consequences connected to the digital transformation in the future. Why? Because their “online brains” were not trained properly to acquire the traditional mindset of us in the cognitive, socio-emotional, physical, and spiritual skills levels.

Physical skills that will be gone forever. If we don´t do anything about it, it will be hard to recover the hands-manual skills much needed in art venues or artisan industries. For example, if you visit online galleries, it is horrendous what you perceive painted by the most youthful promises. That means only one thing: people can´t paint anymore before because they only do it using digital tools. What you don´t use, you lose!

I will discuss how to configure back these lost skills (including the spiritual ones) once we arrive at the penultimate post of this saga.

That is why Eleonora Escalante Strategy is always evangelizing to pause the digital transformation until people all over the world can sustain themselves without the “digital”. Only by doing it, we will be able to put everyone on the same page, otherwise, there is a lost generation (those born after 2000) that won´t be able to think or do anything properly without the Internet.

Our next publication will be “Why the virtual office is not for all but for some?”. For the time being, let´s continue with our musical touch for today.

Strategic Music section.

Why did we pick Celine Dion songs in our last publication?

Celine Dion started her career as a singer in 1981 when her mom sent a cassette to René Angélil (the man she married later). If you wish to read her biography, please visit her website here: https://www.celinedion.com/about/biography/

We chose Celine, not just because of her 35 years of career, which are based on her skilled and beautiful voice; but also, because her success was based on discovering her talent at earlier ages. The support that her manager (and then later her husband) did to her career, was not only a blessing but a providential and endorsed passport to her triumph. Our reflection about her life and precious art is: how crucial is the collaboration and support from your significant other. Particularly that can make a huge difference for women. God helps us immensely in our quest to become what we are meant to be, but God´s spiritual aid is always reinforced by the man that we will marry. No married woman that has achieved a prominent position is able to do it alone, in whatever discipline you can imagine. Unless that woman´s husband cooperates or collaborates with her to enable her to reach her highest destiny. It is strategic for us to find good quality and supportive husbands in our pursuit of a lauded standing spot. That is why I pray so much to marry the right man for my life, dreams, and corporate strategy art inventions. Our partner is key for our happiness, is crucial to leave double slavery, and is essential for our stability and enjoyment.

Songs of today belong to “Guns´n Roses”. Three songs catapulted this band to incredible levels during the 80s and 90s decades. The first one is “November Rain”. The second one is the official video of “Sweet Child of Mine”, and the third one is “Patience”. Enjoy the rock!

See you next Tuesday, blessings, and thank you for reading to me.

Sources of reference used for preparing the slides

(1). https://www.bcg.com/capabilities/digital-technology-data/digital-strategy-roadmap
(2).https://www.bain.com/insights/accelerating-digitalization-in-chemicals-five-questions-for-ceos/
(3). https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/mckinsey-digital/our-insights/a-blueprint-for-successful-digital-transformations-for-automotive-suppliers
(4) https://www.oecd.org/education/Directorate-for-education-and-skills-brochure.pdf
(5) https://www.thetechedvocate.org/5-skills-that-students-are-losing-because-of-tech/
(6) https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/01/200117085321.htm
(7) https://www.celinedion.com/about/biography/
(8) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6502424/

Disclaimer: Illustrations in Watercolor are painted by Eleonora Escalante. Other types of illustrations or videos (which are not mine) are used for educational purposes ONLY. Nevertheless, most of the pictures, images, or videos shown on this blog are not mine. I do not own any of the lovely photos or images posted unless otherwise stated.

Published by eleonoraescalantestrategy

Corporate Strategy Artist, San Salvador, El Salvador View all posts by eleonoraescalantestrategy