As we approach the end of 2017, we’d like to thank all our readers and followers for your ongoing feedback and engagement throughout the year.

We’ve covered many exciting (and sometimes challenging!) topics over the past year, as we’ve explored all things learning and development.

From diving into the innovative world of gamification and VR, to talking about current trends in eLearning technology, our articles have discussed many interesting facets of the learning industry. We hope you’ve enjoyed learning about these topics as much as we have.

Here’s a look at your top five most-read articles of 2017!

#1. Structured vs Unstructured Learning in the Workplace

In this article, Ricardo asks: how can we take advantage of technology in order to enable a better blend of structured and unstructured learning, and better overall training and development results?

“In structured learning, information is presented in a structured manner (live presentations, offline slides, videos, documents, books, etc.), learning activities are done as directed, and assessments are used to check if the employee has learned what has been intended to be learnt. This is the traditional approach.”

“Unstructured learning includes learn-on-the-job approaches and happens with the natural experiences and interactions the employee has.”

Keen to enable more unstructured learning in your organisation? Here are some tips.

Assign a peer coach or shadowing experiences;

Create knowledge bases that are easy to search and access;

Have an active online internal social network and instant messaging tool;

Provide collaborative online spaces where information is presented as it is being developed;

Promote an open and positive work culture, where employees can ask questions and learn from peers while doing the job.

You’ll gain an understanding of the differences between structured and unstructured learning in the workplace, and why it’s important to use a combination of both.

#2. The Impact of Sexual Harassment in the Workplace

 2017 saw much discussion and media attention around the subject of sexual harassment in the workplace.

At Go1, we believe all employees have the right to work in a positive and non-threatening work environment, free from any form of sexual harassment. Yet sexual harassment remains a serious issue for many workplaces.

In this article, we looked at how sexual harassment impacts the workplace and the negative effects it can have for both individuals and organisations. Does your organisation have a strong policy around sexual harassment? You can commit to creating a positive and safe environment for your staff, by developing and implementing an effective strategy that prevents and addresses workplace harassment.

Read the full article to find helpful online resources containing more information about workplace harassment and how to navigate this important topic.

#3. How to Measure the Success of Leadership Development Programs

In an effort to make their managers and leaders the best they can be for the business, today’s companies are investing record amounts in leadership development programs for their employees. This is understandable – after all, your company’s long-term success depends on creating strong, successful leaders for the future.

However, with such large proportions of funds going into this area, it’s important for organizations to develop ways of measuring leadership outcomes, to see if these investments are paying off. Unfortunately, leadership is a lot harder to assess than other more tangible aspects of an organization, such as sales figures or productivity reports. So how do we go about measuring leadership development?

#4. Can Manipulation Be Used in a Positive Way?

This article poses the question: have you ever thought about the potential of manipulation for positive change?

No one likes being manipulated. Whether it’s in our personal or professional lives, the idea of manipulation is generally considered to be a bad thing. Most of us associate it with negative connotations, such as people trying to take advantage of us or push us into doing something we don’t really want to do.

But manipulation can sometimes be a good thing – as surprising as this may sound!

Using a positive form of manipulation to motivate employees towards their goals can help to improve their performance and allow teams to achieve organisational goals. This good kind of manipulation is also used by non-profit organisations and ethical companies to persuade people to act, helping others in need and promoting positive change in the world.

If this has got you thinking about ethics in your workplace, and how you can bring positive forms of manipulation to your role as a manager, jump over here.

#5. The Difference Between Knowledge and Skills

These terms are often used interchangeably. But they shouldn’t be!

Knowledge and skills are two similar but separate terms that express two key elements of success in a situation or an accomplishment of a goal.

In this article, you’ll find explanations and examples of the different between knowledge and skills.

“A teacher may have a teaching certificate showing the requisite knowledge to educate young people, but without engagement skills, they’ll never be able to successfully transfer that knowledge.”

You’ll see how skills can be learned and improved upon. They can be honed and crafted through the practice of the practical implementation of their knowledge. And you’ll understand why this is so important when we’re talking about the skills gap within the current workforce.

Happy reading, and happy holidays, from the Go1 team.

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Does PowerPoint play an important role in your company?

There’s no doubt that when it comes to presentations, PowerPoint is the most popular tool that’s used across the world.

We all know presentations are there at every level of business – from interviews to serious boardroom meetings, you’ll always find PowerPoint being used in the background.

Certainly, technology has moved on from the days where presentations were scribbled down on overhead projectors. Now, it’s crucial to have the right tools to get your message across in any situation.

Of course, not everyone’s as tech savvy as they’d like to be. While a lot of people wish to make their presentations visually engaging and interesting for their audience, if you’re not familiar with PowerPoint, this can seem a lot more difficult than it actually is.

That’s where a PowerPoint course comes in. With a little time and concentration, your employees can become more accustomed with the program and how it can aid them in creating brilliant presentations.

This course is suited for those employees who don’t have a lot of experience using PowerPoint. In addition, the course can benefit any employees that have used the program before, but simply want to brush up on their skills and remind themselves of the basics.

The bulk of the course is made up of instructional videos that use an engaging voiceover. The videos take you through the content by showing you how to do every step on screen and what to expect when you’re using a Windows computer.

There are also cheat sheets included for every section of the course. This displays screenshots from the video, which creates a step-by-step guide to using PowerPoint. This helps to break it down and allows employees to see every step in detail.

This instructional course is great for covering all the basics you need to know to feel comfortable using PowerPoint. It takes users through every step from the very beginning, form opening the program through to your presentation at the end.

This section covers everything you need to know to get started. It demonstrates the start-up screen and what users can see, whether they want to create a new presentation or open an existing one.

The video creates a blank presentation and shows how to create a title on the slide, as well as how to create an entirely new slide and add text to it. You can see the automatic bullet point formatting in action onscreen.

In addition, it shows how to add reference notes, which keeps your slides clear and concise, but allows you to add more information to your presentation.

Saving files frequently mean you avoid losing work at important times.

This section shows how easy it is to use the quick access toolbar to hit the save button and protection your presentation. If it’s your first time saving your work, the course takes you through the ‘save as’ option and where to save the PowerPoint.

This section reminds users that plain text can be boring for audiences. But by using pictures, videos and graphs, you can add some color and interest. The video shows the icons you can hover over to insert a table, chart or SmartArt graphic or pictures.

Moreover, it explains the stages to take when you want to insert a picture. Although PowerPoint automatically sizes your picture, this section shows you how to adjust it to get the picture just right. This is using gridlines, as well as align, recolor, frame or rotate.

This section shows you how to give your presentation a professional look using the design tab. This has lots of themes to brighten the slides with designs, fonts and backgrounds.

You can also create your own or select a theme – perhaps this is your company logo and design. It also walks you through the slideshow options and how you can run through your presentation in full screen.

The Review tab has a spell checker and the ability to add comments if others are reviewing it for you.

This section explains how you can print a hard copy of your finished presentation. This is achieved through the file tab, with a preview of your slides and by selecting your printer.

Of course, once your presentation is finished, you’ve got to learn how to run it from your laptop or mobile device for your audience. This section discusses how you can do this in a meeting room.

This includes plugging in the projector to your laptop and using presenter view on PowerPoint, which is on the slideshow tab. This is also laser pens you can use onscreen to guide your audience.

It’s simple - when you know what you’re doing with PowerPoint, you can create better presentations. After all, what’s the point in having a program if you don’t know how to use it to its full potential? This all leads to clearer communication and understanding for everyone.

Employees will benefit from a boost in confidence with a thorough PowerPoint Course, learning how they can make their presentation have a better visual impact and be interesting for their audience. Your slideshow can look like it was designed by a professional in no time!

PowerPoint is easy to use – but only once you know how to use it.

The course runs through the steps you need to make a presentation for important meetings with clients and customers, as well as other staff members. It allows more interactivity than just reading from a sheet of paper.

Don’t forget - having a great PowerPoint presentation is the key to success!

Are you thinking about using e-learning content, but don’t know if it’s the right move for your employees?

Everyone remembers the classroom environment at school, where your teacher would stand at the front and teach. We even see this kind of setup in the workplace when it comes to training days.

While this may be an effective way for some people to learn, it isn’t always so engaging for others. As a result, new ways of learning have emerged.

In recent years, the advancement of technology has meant that we’ve seen the use of e-learning courses and digital content emerging in the workplace, replacing more traditional styles of learning.

Suddenly, there are less training days and more time for actual work to be accomplished. Is this a bad thing?

For most people, moving from a classroom to a computer isn’t a problem. After all, we’re a generation that are always on our mobile devices and searching the internet for information.

In a work environment, now e-learning courses allow you to learn on your own time, which is especially great for part-time and work-from-home employees, just as much as busy full-time staff.

Of course, as everything moves digital, we run the risk of losing that vital human connection we need for effective learning. That’s why it’s important that e-learning content doesn’t become ‘too digital’ – it’s got to have the essential human touch.

When digital content is all automated and electronic, it often lacks imagination and this can mean that training becomes boring and disengaging for employees.

This is when content becomes less effective at its job. Having a human touch makes it more relatable, personal and interactive.

There are many ways you can bring a human touch to your digital content. One of the half-way points a lot of people use when they’re making the switch from traditional to modern is blended learning.

This is when you let your employees enjoy the best of both worlds – they have e-learning courses that they can work through on their own, as well as classroom training sessions.

While there’s nothing wrong with this approach, there’s still plenty of options online that still incorporate the human touch into learning.

Since e-learning is more cost effective and the most efficient way of learning, it’s best to explore your options – why would you want to spend more money and time on training days when you don’t have to, right?

Online e-learning courses that use videos for educating their audience are one of the best ways to learn in the digital age. The engaging voiceovers allow employees to feel like they are interacting with the instructor and they are being communicated with directly.

In addition, seeing scenarios on screen makes learning much more effective. Whether this is a real-life scenario or an animation, this is a great way to bring concepts to life and conveying messages successfully.

You’ll find that the human touch makes everything more relatable and realistic for the learner, which in turn makes it more memorable and useful for everyday working life.

What’s more, animated videos don’t just tell a story, but they can be amusing too! This will make learning a lot more enjoyable and fun for everyone.

There’s plenty of courses you can choose from to suit your employees and industry. From the basics of accounting to how you can manage stress, the possibilities are endless!

When you have digital content for your employees, you want to make sure everyone gets the support that they need and can interact about what they’re learning.

Creating an online community within your office is the perfect way to do both of these things at once. After all, we’re all social beings and need interaction even online.

Incorporating discussion forums within your LMS will allow everyone to share ideas and collaborate, as well as raise any concerns they have. You can create different topics and establish a virtual learning environment.

Live webinars are the perfect way to spice up the old classroom style method of learning. Hosting this online, lets training take place from anywhere and lets employees around the country join in and learn together.

Your employees can hear the instructor and see their facial expressions, as well as have the ability to share ideas and interact with everyone online. There are a lot of features of webinar software that lets you ask live questions to the instructor.

With video conferencing calls, you can all see and interact with each other through audio or video. It’s like being in the same room as everyone else! You’re able to enjoy all the benefits – you can share ideas and communicate just like you would in person.

There’s no doubt that employee training is moving with the times and this means that online e-learning courses are the future. That means it’s better to make the adjustment in your office now rather than later. You can see what works best for you without rushing.

To keep the human touch with your online learning courses, video content is the best way to go, while creating an online community will make sure everyone stays interactive with each other.

In addition, adding some monthly live webinars into the mix is sure to keep the best elements of classroom learning in the frame.

Together, this is going to create an amazing learning experience for your employees that incorporates modern technology and keeps the all-important human touch!


Why your digital content needs to have a human touch

Traditionally, many employees will enjoy taking time off over the holiday season. With many businesses shutting down between the Christmas and New Year period, it’s a good opportunity for workers to lock in some quality time with family and friends, while recharging their batteries for the year ahead.

In Australia, annual leave is a legal requirement, however many employees still worry about taking time off.

Some employees might feel guilty about adding to the workload of others. Others may be worried they might not have a job to come back to if they take their annual leave. And unfortunately, many people think they’re simply too busy to take a break – winding down might not even seem worth it, due to the amount of work they know they’ll come back to!

Are you worried about taking time off this holiday season? 

Please read this, and think about the importance of taking proper time off over the holiday season. By taking a break, you’ll be doing the best thing for your wellbeing, your employer, and your career.

Reasons why employees don’t take holiday leave

Why are so many employees deciding against taking time off, choosing to work through the holiday season instead?

There could be many reasons why your staff members aren’t taking their annual leave. Or why you’ve made the decision yourself not to take time off.

In such a competitive job market, many workers fear that they could be replaced during the break, or the job could go to someone else if they take leave and are unavailable.

In other cases, it may not seem worth it – taking time off only to return to an overflowing inbox of URGENT emails. Most of us have been in this situation at some point, returning from a relaxing holiday to a giant pile up of fresh deadlines and meeting invites greeting you at your desk.

As psychologist Sarah-Jayne Whiston explains, fear of taking annual leave is “a common occurrence in workplaces. It’s that sinking feeling if you leave your work, the emails and things to do list will keep mounting, so taking time off will mean you have to come back to even more work,” says Sarah-Jayne.

What can employers do to promote annual leave?

As an employer, it’s a good idea to be mindful of the stresses that the holiday season can bring. If you’ve noticed your team members are hesitant to down tools and switch off, think about how you can encourage them to take time off.

Reassure your employees of the security of their jobs in the new year, to encourage workers to take the leave days that they legally have a right to.

For employees who are worried about their team members having to pick up the slack? Take steps to promote a collaborative work culture, emphasising a workplace environment of trust and knowledge. When teams work in collaboration, they support one another to accomplish team and organisational goals.

This way, staff members shouldn’t feel stressed or guilty about taking time off, feeling able to trust their team mates to pitch in and carry the work load in their absence.

Managers should make sure all teams are properly covered during annual leave periods, and allow staff adequate desk time when they return to work after a break, to catch up on their emails and in-trays.

Recognise when you need to take a break from work

While managers and employers have a responsibility to encourage staff members to take a break, at the end of the day you also have a responsibility to yourself. As an employee, it's up to you to manage your stress levels and time off, to avoid burning out.

Not taking enough time off work can have huge impacts on your mental, physical and emotional health. Which will also have a negative effect on your work relationships and personal life.

Taking time off from work isn’t just about your own wellbeing. You might think that you’re being a work hero by not taking holidays, but refusing to take proper breaks isn’t the best thing for your team mates or employer.

Increased stress and anxiety, exhaustion and burnout will all result in lower performance and productivity levels for your organisation.

"Evidence shows you become less productive without proper breaks. Even if people work longer hours, they're not as creative and can't maintain the same intensity level," says Penny de Valk, Managing Director of talent management at global HR services group, Penna.

With our current obsession and celebration of ‘busyness’ it can be hard to step away from work, as it’s often linked to our feelings of self-worth and achievement. But running on low levels of creativity and productivity isn't really helping anyone – you, your boss or your clients or customers.

Take that well-deserved break and return to work in the new year full of fresh energy, ideas and motivation!

Are Your Employees Taking Their Annual Leave?

Why you need to take time off over the holiday season

With Christmas just around the corner and the holiday season in full swing, it's time for the annual end-of-year work party for many companies. While this is supposed to be a time of high spirits, fun and celebration with your team mates, these occasions can unfortunately often see incidents of sexual harassment rise in number.

In recent months, we’ve seen a lot of media focus and discussion around the pervasiveness of sexual harassment in many industries. The Australian Human Rights Commission’s 2012 survey tells us that 1 in 4 women (25%) and 1 in 6 men (16%) have experienced sexual harassment in the workplace.

To address these figures, it’s vital that Australian employers take a strong stand against sexual harassment, discouraging it in all its various forms and in all work environments – including staff Christmas parties.

You can reduce the risk of incidents taking place at your work party by making sure you have a proper understanding of exactly what constitutes sexual harassment, what steps you can take to prevent it, and how you can create a zero tolerance culture in your organisation.

Be Aware of What Constitutes Sexual Harassment 

One of the biggest problems with sexual harassment is that it can take the form of many different behaviours and actions, with some of them less obvious or aggressive than others.

Whilst many people may think of sexual harassment purely in terms of unwanted sexual advances or inappropriate touching, it can also encompass other more subtle forms of behaviour – behaviour that is still, however, completely unacceptable. At a work social event, such as the end-of-year party, these lines can unfortunately become even more blurred.

The Australian Human Rights Commission defines sexual harassment as “any unwanted or unwelcome sexual behaviour, which makes a person feel offended, humiliated or intimidated.” There are many ways that an individual can be made to feel uncomfortable or intimidated, without physical contact occurring. And they are all potentially damaging.

Unfortunately, in many workplaces, particularly male-dominated work environments, unacceptable actions or comments are often passed off as “jokes” or locker room talk, or just dismissed with a shrug and a “boys will be boys” attitude. When mixed with alcohol and the casual atmosphere of the staff Christmas party, these attitudes can really rise to the surface.

Regardless of whether someone is staring inappropriately, making sexually suggestive comments, telling inappropriate “jokes” or subjecting you to unwelcome physical contact – all of these examples are considered sexual harassment and are behaviours that are completely unacceptable in any work environment.

Make Sure Your Organisation Has a Clear Sexual Harassment Policy

The key to preventing sexual harassment from occurring within your company is for employers and management to ensure that they have a clear policy in place, that defines sexual harassment and outlines unacceptable behaviour and its consequences.

Developing and promoting this policy will make it clear to every employee that sexual harassment is 100% unacceptable in your workplace – at any time. Create a clear and effective policy on sexual harassment, communicating it to all staff within your organisation.

Be sure that your policy is compliant with all local, state and federal laws. Define clear consequences for any form of sexual harassment and monitor staff to make sure employees are complying with this policy.

As an employer, you have a responsibility to be on the lookout for inappropriate conduct and to stop it right away. Be aware that you can also be held liable for the actions of an individual, if it can be shown that you knew sexual harassment was occurring and failed to address the matter.

Make sure that you and other managers encourage the prompt reporting of incidents and always act immediately on any complaints that involve sexual harassment.

Make Sexual Harassment Training Compulsory for All Staff

Make sure that training around the subject of sexual harassment is ongoing for all employees, with refresher training sessions held at least once a year to remind staff of the policy and reinforce its key messages.

You can also hold separate sessions for all managers and supervisors, to educate them on the policy and make sure they are aware of the correct procedures. Managers, supervisors and team leaders should participate in training specifically relevant for their positions, as they can play a significant role in preventing workplace harassment.

Your leaders must be up-to-date with all sexual harassment laws in your state and know how to deal with any incidences in the proper way.

You might want to communicate a reminder to staff, at this time of year, that there will be zero tolerance for sexual harassment of any form at the company Christmas party or end-of-year celebration.

Zero Tolerance for Sexual Harassment in the Workplace

When incidences of sexual harassment occur within a company, it results in serious negative impacts for both the individual and the organisation as a whole.

Cultivate a zero tolerance work culture, making it clear to all staff that sexual harassment is neither welcome nor tolerated. Make sure individuals are aware of their rights and are empowered with a clear idea of what constitutes sexual harassment, so they can feel confident in addressing and reporting it. 

Also, ensure managers, supervisors and team leaders understand their particular role in maintaining a strong stance against harassment in the workplace and leading by example.

In group environments such as the workplace, sexual harassment can have an unfortunate cumulative effect on other staff who bear witness to the behaviour, serving to reinforce and normalise negative male/female stereotypes – especially if the behaviour is not stopped. This is why it’s so important to speak up when you see or hear something unacceptable, even if you’re not in a management position. And yes, even at the staff Christmas party.

By speaking out against sexual harassment, and calling out inappropriate behaviour in the workplace, you can challenge and change the dynamics in your own sphere of influence. You’ll also be encouraging other women, and men, to do the same.

Everyone has a right to enjoy their end-of-year celebration in a safe, positive environment – just think about that for a moment.

If you’d like to learn more about handling sexual harassment in the workplace, or how you can take steps to prevent harassment in your organisation, you might like to read our previous articles:

The Importance of Sexual Harassment Policies

The Impact of Sexual Harassment in the Workplace

Speaking Out Against Sexual Harassment in the Workplace

Zero tolerance for sexual harassment at staff parties

Have you finally given in to e-learning, but want to make sure everyone is on board with the new system?

Sometimes, people don’t like change. But, in a world where everything is constantly evolving, it’s important to keep up with the latest technology. When it comes to ongoing training, everyone knows that online e-learning courses are the way forward.

From engaging educational videos to interactive courses on the go, e-learning offers it all in one exciting package. Yet, even if you’re convinced e-learning is the next biggest thing for your workplace, you’ve still got to convince employees to adopt a new system and understand why it’s so great for them.

For your company, making the switch to e-learning is easy. It’s instant and courses are made ready to use straight away. But, for your learners, everything’s got to start out slow. You’ve got to make sure everyone’s happy with the change and ease them into the new system over time.

So, how can you make sure learners engage and use the new e-learning system?

Well, it doesn’t have to be complicated.

But you can’t just leave everyone to their own devices and launch them into the deep end either. Not everyone’s as tech savvy as they’d like to be. So, you need to make sure everyone’s comfortable with the new set up.

Follow our tips to make sure your learners adopt your new system!

While you know the benefits of e-learning for your company, you’ve got to let your learners know why they should want to adopt the new system too.

Let’s put it this way - I’m sure everyone will be glad that those traditional classroom style training sessions are finally over!

Of course, you’ve got to let them know that online e-learning courses are actually more beneficial than other styles of learning.

Otherwise, employees will worry they aren’t getting the training or education they had before. You don’t want them to think they are getting a bad deal.

You don’t want to tell them about the cost savings for you – this will probably give them the wrong impression. It’s important to tell your learners about the advantages of e-learning that they will experience as a direct user. They want reasons why it’s beneficial to them.

So, arrange a meeting with everyone to go over the benefits of e-learning together. This way you can get everyone excited and on board with the new system.

You can tell them about the endless number of courses that are available, which are regularly updated. From courses on how to understand customer needs to managing stress, there is something for everyone in every industry.

Not to mention, there’s something to suit everyone’s way of learning. You are no longer confined to a classroom with someone speaking at you – you can interact with the courses.

Plus, you can learn at your own pace. If you’re having trouble understanding topics, you can go over them until your heart’s content.

Of course, the big advantage of e-learning that your users will love is that they can learn in their own time. Since courses can be used from any device and started at any time, your learners can choose when they use them.

This means no training sessions after working hours or having to take time away from work. Even if you’re sick, you won’t fall behind. You can even choose to learn on the bus to work!

During the introduction session, you want to emphasize that e-learning is going to make their lives that little bit easier, as well as having educational value.

Now you’ve sold the picture of how great e-learning is for your learners, it’s time to get it up and running. Just because courses can instantly be used on your LMS doesn’t mean that everyone will know how to use them straight away.

Most people will be excited to try something new, but others will be hesitant and need a bit more help. That’s why it’s important to start e-learning as a team.

You can arrange group sessions to go over the first course, just until everyone knows what’s happening and feels confident on their own. This will make sure everyone understands and feels comfortable working the new system.

You want to make the transition to the new system as easy and smooth as possible. After all, it’s your learners who will be using it. By starting as a group, if there are any problems, you can solve them together.

Now that your learners are all familiar with how e-learning courses work and are eager to use them on a regular basis, you should let them know the plan going forward.

If you intend to use online e-learning courses as part of a new system for ongoing training, let them know how often courses should be completed and what they can expect.

It’s important to also let everyone know if they’re having problems, there will be somewhere for support.

While they can always ask other colleagues, it’s also a good idea to have someone dedicated to e-learning support. This way everyone knows who they can go to if they are having trouble.

There you have it – your new system in place and everyone on board.

By emphasizing the positive impact e-learning will have in the workplace, as well as for individual employee progression, everyone will soon love the new system and wonder why it wasn’t in place sooner!

Most people are afraid of the unknown, so if you take some time to introduce e-learning into your office, everyone will be just fine.


Getting learners to adopt your new system

As innovations in technology continue to drive changes to the workplace at a rapid rate, questions are being raised about the relevance of skills being taught in our schools and universities.

Are these skills really relevant to the future workforce? Are we providing children and students with the best opportunities to develop the skills they need for jobs of the future?

These days, many employers are looking for a different kind of skill set in their workers, when compared to the traditional skills we’ve placed value on in the past.

In today’s workforce, hiring managers place great value on employees who possess a good combination of technical ‘hard’ skills and less tangible ‘soft’ skills. What skills will organisations be looking for in another twenty years’ time?

There’s no doubt that we need to re-think how we’re preparing the younger generation for the new world of work. There’s a very real risk that the skills that are currently being taught in schools and universities will be irrelevant and outdated by the time those students enter the workforce.

This is not an uncommon viewpoint or concern. According to a recent article in The Sydney Morning Herald, one in two Australians do not believe children have the skills they need for jobs of the future.

Anna Patty, Workplace Editor for The Sydney Morning Herald, reported that a new survey of 94,706 Commonwealth Bank customers asked whether "our kids have the skills they need for tomorrow?" – half the respondents said yes, the other half no.

The survey was part of the Commonwealth Bank’s Jobs and Skills of the Future Report, which explored the serious challenges that digital disruption would bring to the labour market.

The report, by futurist Ross Dawson, identified many exciting new jobs of the future such as:

"emotional intelligence expert" – to improve customer services

"bionic interface designer" – to help humans control technology

"sense-makers" – to make sense of technological change

"health and fitness optimiser" – to help people get fit

"data insights miners" – to translate vast amounts of data.

These days, many employers are looking for different skill set in their workers, compared to the skills we’ve valued in the past. Here are our tips for developing skills for the future.