If a British futurologist's predictions indicate anything, it's that today's children have a lot of work and different types of it ahead.
According to The Washington Post, Rohit Talwar, a British expert on the future, told a conference of school principals Tuesday that an 11-year-old today might live to 120, work until 100 and hold up to 40 different jobs spanning 10 or more careers. He said new drugs and other medical advances make those figures possible: People live five months longer each year due to those breakthroughs.
And if his estimates hold true, Talwar told conference attendees, schools must adjust to prepare students better for that different future, Daniela Deane reported for The Post.
"Talwar suggested that schools should teach students more relevant skills, including how to relax, boost their memories and get more sleep, in order to cope," Deane wrote.
Why will current youngsters need to learn how to cope?
According to the Daily Mail, research suggests 30 to 80 percent of jobs in existence now will disappear in the next 10 to 20 years, making children's adulthoods entirely different from those of their parents.
That's where the 40 jobs in 10 different careers come in, Eleanor Harding reported for the Daily Mail.
"On one hand we'll be living longer," Talwar said to the Mail. "On the other hand we're not sure how people are going to earn the money to buy goods and services that will largely be produced by smart software and robots ... Will it be right to assume that everyone will still have a job?"
Talwar continued that in that environment, a 50 percent nonworking population might be "natural," Harding wrote.
According to Simon Kelner at The Independent, Talwar cited walking around a Tesla factory or Amazon warehouse today as indicative of the future: "There are no humans." Current students can complete their studies with a career in mind like computer programming or biology but since there's no way to tell if technology will take over those fields, children should be taught life skills instead, such as meditating, avoiding stress and getting sufficient sleep.
Workers who manage to hold jobs will have "portfolio" approaches to employment, according to BBC News. People would work more than one job a day, like driving an Uber cab and delivering Amazon orders. Services such as Airbnb would provide a source of income, too, as people could rent out spare bedrooms and driveways, Talwar said.
Justin Parkinson wrote for the BBC that Talwar's predictions seem surprising, but the futurologist notes norms today were just as much of a pipe dream decades ago.
"After all, who would ever have thought until recently that you'd need social workers specially trained to deal with the traumas caused by social media?" Parkinson quoted Talwar as saying. "Things change."
According to The Washington Post, Rohit Talwar, a British expert on the future, told a conference of school principals Tuesday that an 11-year-old today might live to 120, work until 100 and hold up to 40 different jobs spanning 10 or more careers. He said new drugs and other medical advances make those figures possible: People live five months longer each year due to those breakthroughs.
And if his estimates hold true, Talwar told conference attendees, schools must adjust to prepare students better for that different future, Daniela Deane reported for The Post.
"Talwar suggested that schools should teach students more relevant skills, including how to relax, boost their memories and get more sleep, in order to cope," Deane wrote.
Why will current youngsters need to learn how to cope?
According to the Daily Mail, research suggests 30 to 80 percent of jobs in existence now will disappear in the next 10 to 20 years, making children's adulthoods entirely different from those of their parents.
That's where the 40 jobs in 10 different careers come in, Eleanor Harding reported for the Daily Mail.
"On one hand we'll be living longer," Talwar said to the Mail. "On the other hand we're not sure how people are going to earn the money to buy goods and services that will largely be produced by smart software and robots ... Will it be right to assume that everyone will still have a job?"
Talwar continued that in that environment, a 50 percent nonworking population might be "natural," Harding wrote.
According to Simon Kelner at The Independent, Talwar cited walking around a Tesla factory or Amazon warehouse today as indicative of the future: "There are no humans." Current students can complete their studies with a career in mind like computer programming or biology but since there's no way to tell if technology will take over those fields, children should be taught life skills instead, such as meditating, avoiding stress and getting sufficient sleep.
Workers who manage to hold jobs will have "portfolio" approaches to employment, according to BBC News. People would work more than one job a day, like driving an Uber cab and delivering Amazon orders. Services such as Airbnb would provide a source of income, too, as people could rent out spare bedrooms and driveways, Talwar said.
Justin Parkinson wrote for the BBC that Talwar's predictions seem surprising, but the futurologist notes norms today were just as much of a pipe dream decades ago.
"After all, who would ever have thought until recently that you'd need social workers specially trained to deal with the traumas caused by social media?" Parkinson quoted Talwar as saying. "Things change."