The workforce for the 21st century

The workforce for the 21st century

Technology has been a significant catalyst in increasing the demand for a higher educated workforce, said Dr Henry O’Lawrence at the recent InSITE conference held at RMIT Vietnam’s Saigon South campus.

Dr O’Lawrence, a researcher and data analyst who teaches in the Department of Health Care Administration, California State University, Long Beach, shared his views on the importance of education and workforce development as one of the ways to develop economic growth and raise the level of competition among individuals in a global economy in the 21st century.

In his talk The workforce for the 21st Century, Dr O’Lawrence discussed his study which analysed and evaluated labour market indicators in the United States.

“Many technological innovations require highly-qualified employees in order to install, operate and maintain the equipment,” Dr O’Lawrence said.

“Technological change has created new jobs that require new skills and knowledge in new subjects, and this has changed the criteria required in traditional careers.”

Dr Henry O’Lawrence giving a talk on The workforce for the 21st Century Dr Henry O’Lawrence giving a talk on The workforce for the 21st Century

So, what should people do to keep up with technological changes?

Dr O’Lawrence said that the workforce needs to prepare itself through professional development, goal setting and individual empowerment, teamwork, working with the community, adapting to change, and leveraging the internet.

He concluded by saying the evolution of the digital platform and technology across all sectors in the 21st century will continue to impact recruiting, and create strong competition among businesses in attracting highly-qualified employees.

For RMIT Vietnam, preparing students to thrive within technological change is a priority.

A lecture at RMIT Vietnam's School of Science & Technology A lecture at RMIT Vietnam's School of Science & Technology

In a previous interview, RMIT Vietnam President Professor Gael McDonald emphasised the importance of technological enhanced learning environments.

“Our priority is to promote and facilitate digitally enabled, industry relevant, and work integrated learning experiences,” she said.

In 2016 the University implemented blended, flipped, and fully online delivery modes for 17 core courses in its largest programs. This year RMIT Vietnam has replaced hard copy textbooks with multimodal digital learning materials, and invested in new state-of-the-art learning spaces.

About InSITE

Informing Science Institute’s (ISI) 2017 Informing Science and IT Education (InSITE) Multi-conference was hosted by RMIT Vietnam at the University’s Saigon South campus between 31 July and 5 August. Sponsored by RMIT Vietnam’s School of Business and Management, in conjunction with the university’s Centre of Digital Excellence (CODE), the week long conference was an opportunity to share research with academics from around the world and collaborate on issues pertaining specifically to the uptake and delivery of digital technology in education.

Story: Le Mong Thuy

  • Research
23 August 2017

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