Currently most of the time we prepared our children for a future that will not exist. We prepare them for a time very similar to our today’s life, but the reality is different from the future that we imagine in our mind.

Technologically, the 20 years jump from now to 2040 will be enormous. Some elements of our world will stay familiar while the other elements will change dramatically. How today’s traditional education can prepare our children for this huge change?

Back to the emergence of the internet, our computers were giant, not user friendly and they all ran by Windows 95. No touch screen, no cool high-resolution images. At that moment people laughed at the idea of reading e-books or working on touch screen devices. What about the future from now on? What will our world be like in 2040 and forward? How our restaurants will be or our communication will change? How our diet will alter and how our grand children’s education will become different?

Our future life will be smarter and more automatic. Some today’s idea may launch and we may have a faster life than today. Many people may work from home and some certain jobs will vanish.

SO how we should prepare our kids for the future jobs that don’t exist just yet?

What skills are more important than others?

“There is no matter what field your kids will go into, there are some soft skills that almost all of them in every occupation will need”, the experts say. Here are five core skills that experts suggest to teach our kids — both in school and out.

• Problem-solving: The best and only way to prepare our kids for the future is to raise them, problem solvers. In the coming competitive world, our kids should be able to think critically and be able to come up with smart solutions to complex situations. To aim this they should be able to ask “why” and “how” and to think through all sides of an issue.

• Group work: Most companies have a common goal and they hire the people who work toward this goal. Playing well with others and unify toward a common target is inevitable in future organization’s life. It is a necessary skill that kids can learn today to be able to know the value of teamwork for their time to come. Work together, be flexible, take responsibility and be effective as part of a team or organization can be achieved today at school with other peers or at home with family members.

• Creativity: Creativity or Thinking out of the box, is an ability to transcend traditional ideas, rules and patterns to create meaningful new ideas, forms and methods. Creativity is something acquisitive not natural it means that every child can learn it in a creative environment and apply it in his/ her daily routine life. They just need to start looking for multiple solutions rather than settling for just one and permit themselves to be playful, flexible and curious.

• Social skills: In the 21st centre, social skills such as; articulating opinions, expressing thoughts clearly and making powerful and effective speeches are more important than any other time in history. These skills are valuable in the workplace and public life.

• Use Smart Tech: Besides many other soft skills knowing how to use the new tech is an important tool for the future job market. In the future no matter what field our kids go into. The most employer, in every occupation, will need to know how to use technology as the world is becoming more and more digital and automated.

For having a bright future for our kids we really should be considering these capabilities as core skills. Students should know how they rate in terms of problem-solving, group work, creativity, social skills and use smart tech, and they should know how they can develop in these areas. fortunately, we have enough time and the technology gave us good access to unlimited sources to prepare the kids for a different future. Have a clear path in hand is very helpful to step into a next-generation road path.

Tara Javdani

writer and Hive5kids Founder and owner