By Vian Chinner, CEO and founder of Xineoh.
Many in the matric class of 2018 are currently weighing up their
options for the future. With the country’s high unemployment rate casting a
shadow on their opportunities, these future jobseekers have been encouraged to
look into which skills are required by the market, tailoring their occupational
training to align with demand and thereby improving their chances of finding a
job, writes Vian Chinner – a South African innovator, data scientist and CEO of
the machine learning company specialising in consumer behaviour prediction,
Xineoh.
With rapid innovation and development in the field of artificial
intelligence (AI), all careers – including high-demand professions like
engineers, teachers and electricians – will look significantly different in the
years to come.
Notably, the third wave of internet connectivity, whereby our
physical world begins to merge with that of the internet, is upon us. This is
evident in how widespread AI is being implemented across industries as well as
in our homes with the use of automation solutions and bots like Siri, Google
Assistant, Alexa and Microsoft’s Cortana. So much data is collected from the
physical world every day and AI makes sense of it all.
Not only do new industries related to technology like AI open new
career paths, such as those specialising in data science, but it will also
modify those which already exist.
So, what should matriculants be considering when deciding what route
to take?
For highly academic individuals, who are exceptionally strong in
mathematics, data science is definitely the way to go. There is, and will
continue to be, massive demand internationally as well as locally, with
Element-AI noting that there are only between 0 and 100 data scientists in
South Africa, with the true number being closer to 0.
In terms of getting a foot in the door to become a successful data
scientist, practical experience, working with an AI-focused business, is
essential. Students should consider getting an internship while they are
studying or going straight into an internship, learning on the job and taking
specialist online courses from institutions like Stanford University and MIT as
they go.
This career path is, however, limited to the highly academic and
mathematically gifted, but the technology is inevitably going to overlap with
all other professions and so, those who are looking to begin their careers
should take note of which skills will be in demand in future, versus which will
be made redundant by AI.
In the next few years, technicians who are able to install and
maintain new technology will be highly sought after. On the other hand, many
entry level jobs will likely be taken care of by AI – from the slicing and
dicing currently done by assistant chefs, to the laying of bricks by labourers
in the building sector.
As a rule, students should be looking at the skills required for the
job one step up from an entry level position and working towards developing
these. Those training to be journalists, for instance, should work towards the
skill level of an editor and a bookkeeping trainee, the role of financial
consultant.
This also means that new workforce entrants should be prepared to
walk into a more demanding role, with more responsibility, than perhaps
previously anticipated and that the country’s education and training system
should adapt to the shift in required skills.
The matric classes of 2018 have completed their schooling in the
information age and we should be equipping them, and future generations, for
the future market – AI is central to this.
