#Getdigital2018

Welcome back everybody! It’s that time again where you get to indulge yourself in my blog as I explain all about DICE conference number 2. This 4 hour special dealt with three main topics

1. The Future of Work
2. Digital Transformations.
3. Trust, Privacy and Governance.

For my blog post I will focus in on ‘The Future of Work’. Before I begin, I believe this is the most vital part of the conference. This ties in with other BS1 modules we have this semester. This information will prepare us for the working world, once we have our degree in hand, we are off!!

So listen carefully because when you become the next millionaire I’ll be ready to prove I am right. 

First Up: Mark Kellett, CEO of Magnet Networks.

Mark Kellett is a former graduate of DCU business school. He is now the CEO of Magnet Networks. This is a B2B telecommunications company originating from Dublin and is now located all over the globe. They have many high profile clients from X-Factor to Twitter where they provide broadband and connect A to B even if that is 10000 miles away.

Mark’s opinion on the future of work had my attention from his first comment it’s not just an Irish story, It’s “going big, going global” . The future of work is certainly not Ireland, to be successful we must set up in all corners of the world.

Below we see the potential Ireland has to export on an international scale. Enterprise Ireland found in 2017 Irish firms have broke through into foreign markets and are excelling. This gives me some great hope for the future as maybe one day I will see myself as an exporter on a global scale…..

But First…….. I must figure out what skills and outlook will be needed, to tackle the future of work.

Thankfully Mark Kellett gave some vital answers that are needed to take on board and start implementing.

• His first response was THINK GLOBAL. Kellett always referred back to this idea. In Ireland we have a population of 4million which is 41.62 times smaller than Pakistan (Worldometers, 2018). There is no way you can stay in the domestic economy and achieve what you want to achieve. Goals are always set to break and thus, raised. Magnet Networks started 2018 with 87 locations and have goals set to reach 300 by 2020. These global scale goals are what’s needed for future workers.

• LANGUAGES. Kellett couldn’t mention these enough. Referring to Magnet Networks they have business in every continent. To be successful in the future multi-languages are crucial. Language barriers slow down and restrict entry into foreign markets, which therefore reduce expansion levels. In my opinion, this has inspired me to take on language courses in Spanish and continue my French studies. Mark Kellett recommends that to be the best in the future, you must be able to identify with all cultures. This means go adventuring !! Travel, see other states, think the way they do and then come back and start your project. Global once again, is the key to our future success.

  

• THINKING FUTURE. Kellett explains how there is no better way to prepare for the future. Students must adapt to change and try be the change. Technical aspects of work are becoming must more dominant in sectors across the world. Mark explains how future employees need to know, how to use them and how to beat them.

What about future threats ??

How many of you disregarded the threats of the future of work ? Because I did! Mark explains that with the future comes the unknown. Cyber attacks are on the way up and new attacks are been created every day, Kellett warns that to be the best, you must prepare for the worst. Your company must have technology to combat these attacks, especially if you are dealing with private information. So watch out !!

Mark Kellett has thought me many things, he has opened my eyes to what future me will have to look like if I want to be the best. THINK GLOBAL has been burned into my brain and makes me want to jump right in to manage an international business.  “Going Big, Going Global” remember that.

Next up: Siobhan O’Shea, CPL Future of Work.

Siobhan O’Shea LinkedIn

Siobhan graduated from UCD and is now a Sales director in CPL with specialties in the future of work. Siobhan dealt with the future of work but in terms of job employment and the race against robotics.

Siobhan began with a simple example of how the future could look: a man sitting on the moon with his laptop. It may look simple but deep down it shows the goals we can reach. Think back 10 years ago we have no virtual reality, we had no segways and we had no electronic cars, but within that short period of time a new ‘world’ (excuse the pun) was created for the everyday people.

Waves of Change

Siobhan spoke about the different trends the working world has gone through. We enter into the unknown as technology and industrial sectors are rapidly changing. Question: what job did 10 year old you imagine yourself being? A teacher, a builder, a fire fighter? But ask a 10 year old now, what they want to be when they grow up ? The answers are; A youtuber, a games designer, a blogger!

This one question sums up our wave of change. And of course this wave isn’t finished its course. We have constant changes in our working world and digitization has a major part to play.

Siobhan made it clear that these key trends that are forming are a must for being successful. Don’t resist them, try agree, implement and accept these.

A major trend is now Remote Working. This change is all about increased productivity. We cut out commuting and the home becomes the ‘office’. With our digital age in full prime software can easily connect you to all your colleagues in a touch of a button.    In my opinion I agree to this diverse, new way of working as reduced car journeys allow employees to feel more relaxed and hence, increase their productivity. However, there are cons to this digital work make-over, When does the ‘office hours’ end. People may consume themselves in work and lose out on the home or social element. But, I do believe this future of work organisaton will prosper and increase productivity (and that is the aim of the game)

Will robots steal my job?

  The answer is No! 

Don’t worry Siobhan, a leader in recruitment and advanced experience with The Future of Work Institute has reassured us that robotics will not run the world.

Yes, they will be a large part of each industry but employment will grow out of these. Siobhan explains how routine work will be heavily controlled by robotics i.e. counting people going through toll- bridges. Therefore, unskilled workers will lose out. Within factories, robotics to people labour will be heavily outnumbered. But an estimated 80,000 will grow from the implementation of robotics. New opportunities will be created. However, we do not know what these opportunities will look like. So we must wait and see.

Creativity  is where jobs will develop from. Even though robotics will be all around us, they can’t re-create a human’s creative power. Complex problem solving will be a fundamental of future employees. The ability to solve issues and create answers can’t be designed into a robot. Here is where we will grow and be granted opportunities to think big!

To round off Siobhan’s discussion she simply stated “embrace change” And that is what I’m going to do! 

Final speaker of the night: The Panel.

First thing that needs to be mentioned, it was an ALL female panel. This already highlights how the future of work will be changing. We have strong representatives of women and it keeps on growing.

The MC for the panel was Edel Conway, DCU and her guests included

Esther Valle, IBM

Siobhan O’Shea, CPL

Andreea Wade , Opening.io

• Automation 

The panelist voiced their opinion on how it will affect us in the future. It is esitimated that 75% of jobs will be subject to replacement, meanwhile this will open a door to new opportunities that don’t exist yet. 

Esther’s comment caught my attention as she said “we do not need to be afraid, create your own jobs”  I found this very important as a whole new outlook needs to be created. Follow your passion and build a job that is right for you. There is no one to stop you. 

• Skills for the future

It is a fast moving world, one set of skills is not enough. We can’t wait for an invitation. Most panelists had the same opinion. Problem solving is a major skill to excell in. Social media is very important. We need to know our way around every social media sight and the popularity of it. Think – What are customers most active on. Figure that question out and you can have your product advertised there in seconds.

• Gender Gap

Will it still be here? That is a major worry if it is. Female representatives in the work place are critical for success. The willingness to work needs to be increased and become more attractive to work rather than being a ‘stay at home mother’. 

The attitude men and woman have when applying for a job is very different. Men on average will apply for a job if they have at least 2 of the qualities, women won’t apply until they have 9/10 of the qualities. This attitude needs to change and the mindset of women need to feel they can apply for all jobs and have an equal chance of employment.

Evaluation

Once again this was a very successful conference. Digitization is all around us and it is only going to get bigger. We need to think about where we need to be to combat these changes. 

I believe we all can become the best future employees with the set of skills given to us by our top speakers. We need to hold on to our talent and put ourselves forward for new opportunities. 

I will end this post on what I believe was the key message of the whole conference

“think big, think global”