A Career Fit for Purpose

About a week ago, BP announced that they would be shedding about 10 000 jobs worldwide due to the reduction in demand for oil because of #Covid-19. This week Sasol said that they would begin the consultation period with their employees for potential retrenchments as they restructure their business. Meanwhile, the SABC has also announced potential #jobcuts that may impact about 600 employees as it embarks on its strategy to transform, improve efficiencies, and make it financially sustainable. As if that was not enough for one week, Steel producer ArcelorMittal South Africa also announced that it would be shedding an undisclosed amount of jobs due to the Covid-19 impact exacerbated by the extended #lockdown. The jobs' blood bath does not seem to be abating; instead, it seems to be picking up momentum.

We have known for a while now that job losses were in the forecast due to the #fourthindustrialrevolution. However, we also knew that there would be some new jobs created with the emergence of new technologies. We figured we had about 2 to 4 years to get our house in order in terms of reviewing our careers, skills, and future competencies that will be required. As we all know now, that was before the novel #Covid-19 descended on our shores, pulled the rug from under our feet, and left us still wiping the dust from our eyes, still trying to make sense of it all. The grace period we thought, we had to sort ourselves out, preparing our organizations and our employees vanished. Now we are all scrambling to make sure that we are on the right side of the future of the Covid-19 impact.

It may seem like it is all doom and gloom however; the optimist in me sees positive changes that will emerge from all this drudgery hot on our heels. We must not despair. Instead, let us use this time to reflect, examine our lives, our careers, and our futures. This is the time to review if your career is fit for purpose. Is it fit for the new future that will soon be unfolding for us? Let us take this time to learn new skills, new capabilities, and where possible venture into new career paths. As organizations, it is time to review our operations and our efficiencies and where possible venture into new and different product lines, which many companies are already doing. Above all, let us just breathe. When this is all over, we will all be better for it. It may not seem like it now because we are in the storm. I am looking forward to the other side of this coin.

About a week ago, BP announced that they would be shedding about 10 000 jobs worldwide due to the reduction in demand for oil because of #Covid-19. This week Sasol said that they would begin the consultation period with its employees for potential retrenchments as they restructure their business. Meanwhile, the SABC has also announced potential #jobcuts that may impact about 600 employees as it embarks on its strategy to transform, improve efficiencies, and make it financially sustainable. As if that was not enough for one week, Steel producer ArcelorMittal South Africa also announced that it would be shedding an undisclosed amount of jobs due to the Covid-19 impact exacerbated by the extended lockdown. The jobs' blood bath does not seem to be abating; instead, it seems to be picking up momentum.

We have known for a while now that job losses were in the forecast due to the #fourthindustrialrevolution. However, we also knew that there would be some new jobs created with the emergence of new technologies. We figured we had about 2 to 4 years to get our house in order in terms of reviewing our careers, skills, and future competencies that will be required. As we all know now, that was before the novel #Covid-19 descended on our shores, pulled the rug from under our feet, and left us still wiping the dust from our eyes, still trying to make sense of it all. The grace period we thought, we had to sort ourselves out, preparing our organizations and our employees vanished. Now we are all scrambling to make sure that we are on the right side of the future of the Covid-19 impact. It may seem like it is all doom and gloom however; the optimist in me sees positive changes that will emerge from all this drudgery hot on our heels. We must not despair. Instead, let us use this time to reflect, examine our lives, our careers, and our futures. This is the time to review if your career is fit for purpose. Is it fit for the new future that will soon be unfolding for us? Let us take this time to learn new skills, new capabilities, and where possible venture into new career paths. As organizations, it is time to review our operations and our efficiencies and where possible venture into new and different product lines, which many companies are already doing. Above all, let us just breathe. When this is all over, we will all be better for it. It may not seem like it now because we are in the storm. I am looking forward to the other side of this coin.