Identifying the Skills You Need for Success

In this episode, I am joined by Jamie Mackay. Jamie is an employment professional and works with organisations and learning institutes to help them offer relevant learning opportunities to individuals. His work is very focussed on the skills that people need to find suitable employment and build their careers. Jamie shares not only his career story on the show but also some tips, ideas, guidance, and resources that people can use to continue their learning journey. 

Key Takeaways

• While you are ultimately responsible for your career, don't underestimate the value of your parents, career or guidance counsellors, and mentors
• Certain people find jobs because of their social capital (it's not what you know, it's who you know) and you can build your social capital using tools like networking
• When thinking about building transferable skills for the future (ca. 2030), think about skills that are difficult for artificial intelligence to replace like creativity, critical thinking, adaptability, communications, reliability, and even project management
• Storytelling is a fantastic communication and learning tool because people can relate to stories
• Having a part-time job at school and whilst studying is vitally important as it helps build transferable skills and prepares you for the workplace
• In addition to the usual books and online courses that are used for learning, think about other approaches like attending conference and networking
• When considering further education in the arts and humanities fields, think about the skills that employers may be looking for and how these might be learnt in your chosen field of study
• Having a growth mindset is vital to your continued learning and development
• Be responsive to opportunities and enjoy making the choices you need to make

Resources Mentioned
Jamie shared many resources during the interview:

• The National Careers Service for information, advice and guidance to help make decisions on learning, training and work.
• YouTube for everything from coding to fixing your hot water boiler
• Udemy for a vast selection of free and well-priced online courses
• The World Economic Forum - skills for your future
• The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development - skills and work
• The Open University - free courses
• The London Interdisciplinary School - an interdisciplinary undergraduate course, built around real-world problems

Recommended Reading
Jamie recommends reading the following books:

• The Rise of the Robots: Technology and the Threat of Mass Unemployment by Martin Ford
• Mindset: Changing The Way You think To Fulfil Your Potential by Carol Dweck

Connect with Jamie
Listeners can learn more about and connect with Jamie by visiting his LinkedIn profile or Twitter page.