"The illiterate of the 21st Century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn."
Simulated Workplace
Diverse Job Roles, Diverse Companies and Diverse Industries
Interdisciplinary Learning
Explore Diverse Job Roles to Expand Your Skill Set
In today's fast-evolving job market, the path to career success is no longer linear. Gone are the days when you could sustain your career with the same set of skills. As the industries evolve, seeking candidates who are versatile, adaptable, and collaborative, so must your skill set to match their needs.
Welcome to the era of skill stacking, the art of combining diverse, complementary skills with your core skills to expand your skill set, bridge your skills gap, enhance employability, and be more adaptable to changing market dynamics. This skill set varies for each individual based on their strengths, interests, and career goals.
So, how do you stack your skills and stay relevant in the rapidly changing professional landscape? Start exploring diverse job roles to expand your skill set, adopt a T-shaped model to stack your skills, and make your skill set more dynamic to stay industry-relevant.
Select job roles that align with your career goals and know about skills, tools, concepts, and basic terminologies.
Observe a professional, understand industry dynamics, and learn how a skill is applied practically in real-world situations.
Determine whether the relevant skill would be a right fit on the vertical or horizontal bar of your T-shaped skill set.
Based on the skill's core or complementary alignment, upskill, reskill or cross-skill with the given learning resources.
"Great at One, Good at Many"
- a smart strategy to enhance one's employability
Developing a T-shaped profile—having a broad understanding of various fields while specialising in one's chosen discipline—illustrates this concept and serves as an effective strategy for navigating a dynamic job market.
"Jack of many trades and master of at least one."
What is a T-Shaped Skill Set?
A T-shaped skill set refers to a combination of deep expertise in a specific field (core skills represented by the vertical bar of the T) and broad knowledge across diverse disciplines that might be adjacent and related (complementary and transferable skills represented by the horizontal bar of the T).
A Few Examples
A software engineer who not only codes proficiently but also understands user experience (UX) principles and visual design basics.
A musician who is also a software engineer develops an AI-driven music production app.
A great writer who understands psychology → Creates content that persuades and sells.
A restaurant manager who develops financial literacy can make stronger strategic decisions.
"The future belongs to those who learn new skills and combine them in creative ways."
- Robert Greene
Explore
Multiple Job Roles
01
Experience
New Fields
02
Establish
A T-Shaped Profile
03
Enhance
Your Employability
04
Learn by Shadowing
How You Explore a Job Role
Here’s a step-by-step guide to exploring a job role and enhancing your employability.
Step 1
Select a job role and know the key skills, tools, concepts and terminologies.
Step 2
Shadow a professional and understand how a skill is applied practically.
Step 3
Learn real-world problem-solving through an interactive use case.
Step 4
Understand how you collaborate with cross-functional team members.
Step 5
Complete real-world tasks and have a taste of what it’s like to do the task.
Step 6
Earn a 'Certificate of Exploration' and add value to your resume.
Step 7
Upskill, reskill or cross-skill with the learning resources provided.
Step 8
Connect the dots to find a combination of skills that fit well together.
Added Benefits
While exploring the job role, you also:
Gain basic
domain knowledge.
Improve
commercial awareness.
Develop
big-picture thinking.
Find
skill alignment.
What You Get
Why Employers Look for a T-Shaped Profile
Individuals with a T-shaped profile possess an interdisciplinary background and can see the big picture, approaching problems from various perspectives.
This fosters creativity and collaboration, making them better equipped to navigate complex projects that require knowledge from multiple domains. Below are a few traits that employers value in them.
Find Your Ikigai
You are Unique
Everyone is unique with their own strengths and talents.
"There is no more effective way to empower people than to see each person in terms of his or her strengths."
- Donald Clifton
Discover what makes you unique and nurture those qualities, as they will ultimately bring you profound joy and attract recognition and rewards you truly deserve.
