During orientation weeks on university campuses, career departments often provide some kind of introduction to career counseling services which both parents and new students can attend. In the Q&A time, the most common question from parents usually focuses on what kind of jobs people are hiring for and what major their student should choose to get one of those jobs.

“Consistently over the years, however, it has been shown that such predictions are difficult and many of the past predictions have been proven wrong. Rather than focusing on future jobs” it may be more helpful to look “at future work skills—proficiencies and abilities required across different jobs and work settings.” (http://www.iftf.org/futureworkskills/)

The following article explains why cross-cultural competency is one of the most important skills young people need to focus on developing if they are going to be fully prepared for the work world of today.

https://medium.com/@rettigtim/why-cross-cultural-competency-is-among-the-10-most-important-skills-of-the-future-c128226ee8c1

If you have a student who is preparing for the workforce, whether in trade school or university, it is vital to make sure intercultural competency training is part of his or her core education.