Most jobs of the future don't now exist. Will our kids be ready?

July 23, 2017 - PRLog -- Australian schools need to teach children new skills so they can meet the demands of workplaces in the future, according to entrepreneur and businessman Creel Price.

Mr Price's warning comes as economists point to a fourth industrial revolution that is threatening to wipe out nearly half the jobs in Australia over the next 20 years.

According to global business firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, technology will put 44 per cent of Australia's jobs at risk by 2040.

"The change ahead means academic ability in subjects like maths and science will play second fiddle to life skills such as innovation and resourcefulness," Mr Price said.

"Computers will take over many of the jobs that are being done by people today. Our children need skills that enable them to be flexible and adaptable in the workplace of the future."

Mr Price said children of today needed to build a "portfolio of life skills" to keep pace with the rapid change ahead.

He said life skills that would apply to any profession in the future included:

• Imagination
• Initiative
• Resourcefulness
• Resilience
• Interpersonal skills i.e. team work, leadership and communication

Mr Price called for these skills to be incorporated into core curriculum at Australian primary schools.

"Some futurists are predicting that children of today will have 40 different jobs across 10 career paths in their working lives," he said.

"It's important we arm our children with the skills they will need and one of the best ways we can do that is by teaching them entrepreneurship.

"Entrepreneurship teaches us to keeping trying new approaches when we fail and to be resourceful and creative when it comes to problem-solving."

Mr Price, who started his first business as an 11-year-old selling strawberries from his family's farm, founded the social enterprise program Club Kidpreneur to offer Australian children the chance to learn non-academic skills.

More than 600 Australian schools had offered the program to students over the past seven years, but it was not part of core curriculum.

"More than 12,000 children have done the Club Kidpreneur program and launched a diverse range of businesses, from recycled fishing lures to pet cravats and computer games," Mr Price said.

Mr Price said the education system needed to celebrate entrepreneurial skills like resilience and innovation as much as academic and sporting success.

"The best entrepreneurs in the world were not the smartest kids at school or the best at sport. They learned to be innovative and resilient and they developed strong interpersonal skills like leadership and team work," he said.

Club Kidpreneur, aimed at children in Years 4 – 6, involved developing, producing and selling a product with the student businesses assessed by a panel of real-life entrepreneurs.

Winners were treated to a behind-the-scenes tour of Moose Toys in Melbourne, the fourth largest toy company in Australia and the fifth largest in the United States, to witness innovation and operation in action.

Registrations for the Club Kidpreneur program for terms 3 and 4 are open.

MEDIA CONTACT: Siobhan Dooley, Sequel PR

www.sequelpr.com

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