VOA慢速英语--未来工作需求快速思考能力

Tomorrow’s Jobs Require Fast Thinking

Andrew Chamberlain started in his job four years ago at the job search company Glassdoor.com. At that time, he worked in a computer programming language called Stata.

Then, another programming language called R was introduced. Then one called Python. Then PySpark.

Chamberlin’s father has been a commercial printer for 30 years. Unlike his father, Chamberlin has had to continually learn new skills.

Chamberlin is now the chief economist¹ for Glassdoor.com. His job is one of the jobs of the future - what some are calling a ever-changing universe of work that requires employees to be critical thinkers and fast to adapt to the new environment.

People training for fields as different as plumbing² and aerospace³ engineering need to learn new technologies and apply their skills quickly and regularly.

When companies hire new workers for entry-level jobs, they are not always looking for knowledge of, for example, a certain software. They might look for soft skills, like problem solving, effective communication and leadership. They also may want candidates who show a willingness to keep learning new skills.

Anthony Carnevale is the director of the Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce⁴ in the United States. He said, “The human being’s role in the workplace is less to do repetitive things all the time and more to do the non-repetitive tasks that bring new kinds of value.”

Students may believe that studying science, technology, engineering and mathematics, known as the STEM fields, will easily lead to a good first job.

But, Carnevale said employers are telling colleges: You are producing engineers, but they do not have the skills we need.

Carnevale said, it is “algorithmic thinking” rather than the algorithm itself that is needed in the job market. That means finding new ways to solve a problem is more important than using established steps to do so.

Finding gems⁵

Marie Artim is the vice⁶ president of talent acquisition for the car rental⁷ company Enterprise Holdings Inc. She looks for possible employees.

Every year, she sets out to hire about 8,500 young people for a management training program. The task requires her to search college campuses across the country.

Artim and the Enterprise chief executive started in the training program themselves. Her case shows the bright side of renting cars. It also gets the attention of young adults and their parents who might not consider it a good job.

Artim shared some observations about young people today. She said, millennial⁸ generation students are used to structured situations. In other words, decisions are made for them. The biggest deficit⁹ for this generation, she said, is making decisions by themselves.

To get students ready, some colleges, and even high schools, are working on building critical thinking skills.

One example of this is at the private Westminster Schools in Atlanta, Georgia. For three weeks in January, students either get jobs or go on trips. The experience gives them a better sense of what they might do in the future.

University places attention on skills linked to getting a job

Texas State University in San Marcos offers a marketable-skills series of classes. The goal is to prepare students for job interviews.

Companies are increasingly using case studies during job interviews. This means students need to answer hypothetical questions based on a common problem the employer faces. The idea is to show leadership skills in dealing¹⁰ with those problems.

The career office at the university also places a lot of importance on interview skills. Today, that means teaching young people more than writing an effective resume and dressing¹¹ well.

They have to learn how to perform best on video and phone interviews. Also, they have to learn how to deal with new ways of being chosen for a job. Companies now use ideas like gamification or artificial intelligence bots in their recruiting process.

Norma Guerra Gaier is the director of career services at Texas State. She said her son recently got a job, and he received a phone interview before the final step.

Guerra Gaier said, "He had to solve a couple of problems on a tech system, and was graded on that. He didn't even interface¹² with a human being."

Heidi Soltis-Berner is with Deloitte University. She said companies try to find people who balance technological¹³ knowledge and social skills.

Soltis-Berner said she knows what business division young people find jobs in but does not know what they will be doing.

"We build flexibility¹⁴ into that because we know each year there are new skills," she said.

I'm Mario Ritter.

Words in This Story

perpetually – adv. continuing forever or for a very long time without stopping

adapt – v. to change your behavior so that it is easier to live in a particular place or situation

plumbing – n. the work of a plumber¹⁵ : the job of installing and repairing sinks, toilets, water pipes, etc.

aerospace – n. an industry that deals with travel in and above the Earth's atmosphere and with the production of vehicles used in such travel

algorithmic – adj. a set of steps that are followed in order to solve a mathematical problem or to complete a computer process

acquisition – n. the act or process of gaining skill, knowledge, etc

millennial – n. a person who was born in the 1980s or 1990s

gamification – n. giving work activities some of the qualities of a game

bot (web robot) – n. a program that runs a task or tasks automatically

interface – v. to connect or become connected : to connect by means of an interface

flexibility –n. the ability to change and do different things

1 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

2 plumbing   

n.水管装置；水暖工的工作；管道工程v.用铅锤测量（plumb的现在分词）；探究

参考例句：

• She spent her life plumbing the mysteries of the human psyche. 她毕生探索人类心灵的奥秘。
• They're going to have to put in new plumbing. 他们将需要安装新的水管。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 aerospace   

adj.航空的，宇宙航行的

参考例句：

• The world's entire aerospace industry is feeling the chill winds of recession.全世界的航空航天工业都感受到了经济衰退的寒意。
• Edward Murphy was an aerospace engineer for the US Army.爱德华·墨菲是一名美军的航宇工程师。

4 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。

5 gems   

growth； economy； management； and customer satisfaction 增长

参考例句：

• a crown studded with gems 镶有宝石的皇冠
• The apt citations and poetic gems have adorned his speeches. 贴切的引语和珠玑般的诗句为他的演说词增添文采。

6 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

7 rental   

n.租赁，出租，出租业

参考例句：

• The yearly rental of her house is 2400 yuan.她这房子年租金是2400元。
• We can organise car rental from Chicago O'Hare Airport.我们可以安排提供从芝加哥奥黑尔机场出发的租车服务。

8 millennial   

一千年的，千福年的

参考例句：

• Both Russia and America looked to the future to fulfill their millennial expectations. 俄国和美国都把实现他们黄金时代的希望寄托于未来。
• The millennial generation is celebrating the global commons every day, apparently unmindful of Hardin's warning. 千禧一代显然对哈丁的警告不以为然，每天都在颂扬全球“公地”。

9 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

10 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

11 dressing   

n.(食物)调料；包扎伤口的用品，敷料

参考例句：

• Don't spend such a lot of time in dressing yourself.别花那么多时间来打扮自己。
• The children enjoy dressing up in mother's old clothes.孩子们喜欢穿上妈妈旧时的衣服玩。

12 interface   

n.接合部位，分界面；v.(使)互相联系

参考例句：

• My computer has a network interface,which allows me to get to other computers.我的计算机有网络接口可以与其它计算机连在一起。
• This program has perspicuous interface and extensive application. 该程序界面明了，适用范围广。

13 technological   

adj.技术的；工艺的

参考例句：

• A successful company must keep up with the pace of technological change.一家成功的公司必须得跟上技术变革的步伐。
• Today,the pace of life is increasing with technological advancements.当今， 随着科技进步，生活节奏不断增快。

14 flexibility   

n.柔韧性，弹性，（光的）折射性，灵活性

参考例句：

• Her great strength lies in her flexibility.她的优势在于她灵活变通。
• The flexibility of a man's muscles will lessen as he becomes old.人老了肌肉的柔韧性将降低。

15 plumber   

n.(装修水管的)管子工

参考例句：

• Have you asked the plumber to come and look at the leaking pipe?你叫管道工来检查漏水的管子了吗？
• The plumber screwed up the tap by means of a spanner.管子工用板手把龙头旋紧。