Journey to great jobs in the future

This is the last of a two-part series on education and career challenges facing the Millennial generation, as rapid-fire technology advances change the culture and workplace so quickly that there is barely time to make one life-path decision before the entire landscape shifts dramatically once again.

TODAY: What does the workplace look like in an era driven by ever-changing technology? Why might Millennials aiming for worthwhile careers have an advantage in North Idaho?

By STEVE CAMERON

Staff Writer

Technology is changing the economy and each everyday workplace at warp speed, so perhaps the answer is to hunt down a job at...

Silverwood?

Well, yes, in certain circumstances.

First, meet Morag Barrett, international lecturer and CEO of Denver-based SkyeTeam, a group of employment and workforce consultants. Barrett and co-author Dr. Linda Sharkey have a book being released next week called “The Future-Proof Workplace.”

Barrett predictably has plenty of ideas and opinions about what careers will look like in 10, 20 years and beyond.

She admits that no one knows exactly how technology will alter things, but she’s positive it’s an unstoppable force.

“There are some people who believe technology is slowing down, that things will settle into a pattern like we have now. Believe me, that’s the same thought that someone might have had in 1800s when they claimed that the weaving loom was just a fad.

“The ever-changing, faster-than-imaginable workplace is here, right now. Accept it, learn how to deal with it, or get left behind.”

Coeur d’Alene financial advisor Darin Hayes offered a pretty direct way of describing the situation Millennials (and others) will be facing soon enough.

“Think long and hard about robotics and AI (artificial intelligence),” Hayes said. “There may come a day when if you’re not creating robots or working with robots, you’ll be replaced by one.”

Barrett points to two critical strategies for dealing with this new type of career.

First, you have to think like a freelancer.

Imagine that whatever job you have, it’s temporary and you’re constantly adding skills and relationships for your next spot in what has been called the “gig economy.”

Second, forget the idea of a career ladder.

It’s become flat, she insists, more of a “career lattice.” The basic premise for handling the lattice is being prepared to forget job titles and upward mobility — because the best moves are likely to be horizontal.

“The reality is that we’re all insecure workers in the 21st-century workplace,” Barrett said. “There are reports that more than 40 percent of the workforce will be independent workers by 2020.

“Reid Hoffman (co-founder of LinkedIn) wrote a book in which he stated that the concept now is ‘tours of duty,’ where the nature of work is becoming more fluid, and where individuals with specific skills are hired to complete a specific project.”

Robert Ketchum, a lecturer in occupational education at the University of Idaho Coeur d’Alene and a Ph.D. in vocational and technical skills, puts the situation a little more bluntly.

“The social contract has broken down,” Ketchum said. “There’s little or no loyalty between employers and workers. Basically, it’s here today and gone tomorrow.

“In this environment, you’d better skill up and cross-train — so you’re always ready to take on the next job when the situation demands it, or when you want to do it for your own benefit.”

Meanwhile...

A job at Silverwood Theme Park was mentioned at the top of this analysis — and quite seriously, too.

It turns out that younger Millennials — especially those just out of school — struggle to find work because they don’t have the skills to contribute immediately at companies where they interview.

“The reality of complete worklessness is a huge problem in our culture now,” Ketchum said. “To do all the soft-skill things and build relationships and all of that, you have to get in the door — and that’s getting more and more difficult.

“You’ll hear the phrase, often jokingly, of the ‘bachelor-degree barista.’ It sounds funny, but there’s a truth behind it and, believe me, being a barista with a degree and earning something — well, that’s better than having a degree, being broke, and living with mom and dad.”

To that end, young Millennials in Coeur d’Alene and surrounding areas have an advantage over their peers in most parts of the country.

“It’s a great safety net to have a tourism economy,” said Sam Wolkenhauer, regional analyst for the Idaho Department of Labor. “Most of the hospitality jobs are not high-paying, but they can be a useful stepping-stone to take a young person from school into the adult world where they’re actually working for a living.”

In case you think our tourism business is just a seasonal poof in the wind, Wolkenhauer has some sobering numbers.

“Tourism accounts for 15.8 percent of Kootenai County’s economy,” he said. “There are about 9,000 workers in the industry, and they accounted for $76.5 million in total wages last year. That’s money that gets spent locally, for the most part.

“Yes, some of the work is seasonal, but maybe not as much as people think. Two-thirds (6,000) of those jobs are full-time, year-round.”

Barrett suggested that locals treasure Lake Coeur d’Alene and neighboring mountains – for more than just natural beauty.

“You have to be in the workforce to stay in it, and seek out those good horizontal moves,” she said. “You can make relationships and benefit from a work experience in any job.

“Having that tourism industry is a great benefit to Coeur d’Alene and North Idaho. Listen, a start is a start.

“That hospitality job can be beginning of a great journey.”