The workers of the future, also called "Knowmads" operate from knowledge understood as action and innovation (know) and mobility (nomadic), and constitute the new productive class that generates value. (Juan Carlos Casco, CEO of Emprendedorex). The interesting thing is not so much the name, but the concept. We are facing a new idea of worker, characterized by his imagination, his capacity for innovation, his interest in collaboration and his resistance to a world plagued by uncertainties. We are facing a new type of entrepreneur.
The Knowmads are grouped to face a problem or an opportunity to apply knowledge and generate value. They are people working together in a collaborative way, who share a new culture, the CO culture (collaborate, co-create, share ...), "says Juan Carlos Casco. A Knowmad is a kind of evolution of the freelance worker profile. Thanks to technology (they are 100% digital workers) they work collaboratively and have the knowledge management (not only because they know things, but because they know how to access the rest of knowledge) their greatest strength.
The Knowmads distinguish the concept of employment from work. Jobs are positions, roles or other forms of work. On the other hand, the work has a more extensive scope and is related to the creation of significant results. One's work differs from a career in the Knowmad Society. While a career is something that leads a person throughout their life, the work of an individual is a collection of activities that are supported by elements that are intentional on a personal level. In other words, the results of the work of a Knowmad are their exclusive responsibility "(Moravec John W., Knowmad Society (2013)).
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Andreas Schleicher, Director for Education and Skills, and Special Advisor on Education Policy to the Secretary-General at the OECD believes that in our new economy, skills matter much more than qualifications.
Here are the nine most relevant characteristics for this new worker profile:
- Demographically, it is not restricted to a specific age.
- He / she builds his/ her personal knowledge through information and experience, and uses it to produce new ideas.
- He / she is creative, innovative, collaborative and motivated.
- They get to practice their ideas in various social settings and organizations. That is to say, it is capable of giving meaning to their knowledge according to the context.
- They have the new technologies under control and use them to solve problems and improve their mobility.
- They not only have got knowledge, but they can access new information and use it openly and freely.
- He / she is able to build and maintain networks of contacts and work. Above all, he / she thrives in networks and non-hierarchical organizations.
- As the classic entrepreneur, he/ she never stops learning (either formally or informally); always experimenting with new technologies.
- He / she does not fear failure.
Not all Knowmads have all these characteristics, nor they are exclusive of them. They simply point to a change in attitude and mentality towards work. (https://educationfutures.com/publications/Knowmad-society)
All these characteristics indicate that, in summary, a Knowmad personifies the change in the labor culture compared to the traditional system. That is, the Knowmad embodies the profile that the business world needs most to adapt to the new times. Watch the next video by journalist Raquel Roca about the nature of Knowmad.
Thus, the Knowmad are agents of change, "people who adopt and internalize a type of mentality that allows them to be more flexible to get adapted to the needs of these new times," explains Roca. "The Knowmad is therefore a great manager of the uncertainty that uses his/ her knowledge, versatility and flexibility to look for experimental solutions to problems that today he/she does not know what they will be".
The digital revolution is already underway. Robotics, around the corner. Technology and artificial intelligence will forever change the labor market, as our parents and grandparents have known it. But we will leave aside the sedentarism of the industrial world and the shifts in the factories (or offices). The Knowmads are already preparing to take the reins of this new revolution.
Knowmads = Individuals Whose Skill Sets Allow Them to Quickly Adapt to Changing Work Environments and Challenges (John Moravec).
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