The Future of Learning: Disruption is Banging on Your Door

On March 12 at the SEAC Playground in the FYI Center, AMCHAM’s Human Resources (HR) Committee held the event The Future of Learning: Disruption is Banging on Your Door. James Engel, Chief Learning Architect for SEAC, engaged a room of more than 40 attendees with an energetic and interactive discussion regarding disruptive forces and its impact on education. Disruption was the key word for this event as James found opportunities to disrupt his speech to facilitate learning activities with guests. James gave interesting facts regarding reskilling and upskilling workers in a time of constant and unexpected interruptions while grouping attendees into small teams. Teams answered questions regarding surprising statistics like “Which generation makes up the greatest portion of gig workers? (Boomers) and “How many jobs in Thailand are at risk of automation or elimination?” (20 million).

In HR practice, the term soft skills is being replaced with essential skills, meaning that skills such as communication, empathy, and adaptability are becoming more common place in recruitment searches when hiring new employees. James encouraged employers to expand their education in the workplace to make certain that companies are agile in the future. “Agile leadership and being able to pivot is key,” James stated. This was apt as at the time of the event covid-19 was already causing massive disruptions globally. Attendees inquired about ways to include education with their companies, how to shift focus to the important learning topics, and how to predict learning needs.