I just returned from the Harvard Business School President's Program and one of the topics we discussed was the global need for over 600 million new jobs to be created in the next ten years. Although we are seeing signs of an economic recovery it has largely been "jobless" and real job creation has barely kept up with demand. This demand is going to put an enormous strain on governments and the global economy. Can it be done?
Globalization continues to displace workers as manufacturing moves to the lowest cost area globally and manual labor jobs are being automated at a faster rate leaving unskilled workers in many countries without jobs and without many options. 42.1% of the youth in the EU are in part-time jobs and 23.8% of the youth are unemployed. There are 357.7 million young people globally who are not employed and are not in any type of education or skill development program. We have a global problem and unrest is growing in many countries.
In 2009 I started blogging about the need for people to wake up and take "The Leap" by developing their inner entrepreneur. I felt people needed to start something on the side and to build multiple income streams in their life so they were not dependent on an increasingly unreliable corporate job. This passion project of mine is starting to go mainstream as media and government organizations are talking about the need for entrepreneurial training to help create the jobs of the future.
There is no realistic expectation that worldwide governments can create 600 million jobs in the next 10 years but they can help foster an environment where job creation will take off. They need to help train, empower, and get out of the way of the latent potential on main street and let entrepreneurs young and old take the leap to create the companies and jobs of the future.
This year the World Economic Forum issued a report encouraging massive entrepreneurship training globally. One participant said, "Entrepreneurship education is essential for developing the human capital necessary for the society of the future...it needs to be the core to the way education operates." I must say, I like they way this guy thinks.
Many people are afraid to take the leap. Even if they are not stepping out 100% on their own to start a business, just the thought of starting something on the side can be scary. Where do you start? Who is there to help? And then the self-doubt starts to creep in…can I do it?
Peter Drucker famously said, “Most of what you hear about entrepreneurship is all wrong. It’s not magic, its not mysterious, and it has nothing to do with genes. It’s a discipline and like any discipline it can be learned.”
The World Economic Forum has a five-step education plan. They recommend the following.
1 – Developing leadership and life skills
2 – Embedding entrepreneurship in Education
3 – Taking cross-disciplinary approach
4 - Utilizing interactive pedagogy
5 – Leveraging technology
I am covering the issues of globalization and its impact on local economies and how to build a full-time life in a part-time world more in depth on my website RobertDickie.com. I encourage you to join the discussion. I also encourage you to think about taking the leap if you have not done so already. Start to develop your inner entrepreneur. Think about a side project you would be passionate about starting.
I also encourage you to continue to learn and develop your skills. I recommend Crown’s Venture Academy. I think the program is like a mini-Harvard MBA. Wade Myers, my friend and business partner teaches Venture Academy. He was Baker Scholar at Harvard Business School and is an accomplished venture capitalist. He does a fantastic job of taking a student from the basics to advanced concepts of starting, financing, growing, and evening selling your business. If you are thinking of starting a business this is one of the best investments you can make.
The program costs $150 and I will give the first three people who request it a free subscription to this program. I’d like to hear what you think. Just send me a message on RobertDickie.com.
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