Author Archive: Penny Carballo-Smith
Penny Carballo-Smith is the executive director of the social enterprise Future Think (www.futurethink.info) which equips marginalised communities for new job opportunities emerging in our rapidly digitising world of work. Penny is a graduate of the University of the West Indies (LLB) and the London School of Economics and Political Science (LLM), and a fellow of the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce - a London based organisation committed to finding practical solutions to social challenges.
Opportunity knocks: the “tech savvy” job seeker
Many of us are busily learning everything we can about technology, and making the most of the wonderful FREE and low cost online learning resources out there (some favourites include Tech City UK’s Digital Business Academy, Google Digital Garage, Coursera and Udemy.) And this is necessary. But the truly tech savvy amongst us have a keen sense of when technology […]
Opportunity knocks: mid-career workers get ready
Mark Carney, Governor of the Bank of England, did not mince words during last week’s Canada Growth Summit. He intimated that artificial intelligence, big data and high tech machines could lead to mass unemployment, stagnant wages and political instability. “If you substitute platforms for textile mills, machine learning for steam engines, Twitter for the telegraph, […]
Opportunity knocks: calling all Londoners 16-24
Have you heard? Have you applied? Or do you know someone who should apply? The Mayor of London has launched a £7 million scheme providing FREE industry–approved digital skills training to more than 1,000 young Londoners between the ages of 16 and 24. This is a not-to-be missed opportunity for many. Tech is the fastest growing industry […]
Opportunity knocks: from learning to earning
The link between learning and earning used to be quite simple: get as much formal education as you can, as early as you can, and more likely than not, a good career and a comfortable lifestyle would be yours. Or so we thought. But it’s not quite so simple nowadays. Our rapidly emerging digital economy […]
Opportunity knocks: we MUST learn how to learn
Professor Uri Triesman of the University of California, Berkeley was truly alarmed. 60% of African American students were failing calculus. For them, this meant dropping out of university altogether. He noticed that the university’s African American students tended to work on Maths alone, as a solitary endeavour. When they struggled, they were quick to conclude […]
Opportunity knocks: the gift of neuroplasticity
“Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery, none but ourselves can free our minds”. Redemption Song, Bob Marley,1979. Linkedin’s most in-demand skills in 2018 were unheard of a few years ago. In another few years, many of us are likely to be doing jobs that do not yet exist. We must all keep learning and relearning to […]
Opportunity knocks: mindset opens doors
Those amongst us with what Professor Carol Dweck of Stanford University calls a “growth mindset” are likely to be the winners in our rapidly digitising and constantly changing world of work. They fundamentally believe that with the right learning strategies and some good old-fashioned hard work, they could learn anything. They have few qualms about learning […]
“Opportunity knocks: digital tech sector
A LinkedIn 2015 survey revealed that liberal arts graduates are entering the technology industry at a faster rate than computer science and engineering graduates. Indeed, graduates in English, history, music, anthropology, philosophy, law and many other disciplines are transitioning to a wide range of roles in the tech industry, including sales, digital marketing, software development […]
“Opportunity knocks: apprenticeships have changed”
It has not yet hit the headlines but it should. Apprenticeships have changed – indeed very radically – opening up new opportunities to university graduates and mid-career workers alike. We used to think of apprenticeships as an alternative to university for school leavers; a way to gain valuable work experience and qualifications without racking […]
Opportunity Knocks: Job Tips for the UK Caribbean
Insights by the Caribbean Diaspora for the Caribbean Diaspora It’s all over the news nowadays: digitization, automation and artificial intelligence are sweeping through our economy and all industry sectors, and reshaping our world of work at breakneck speed. How we work, where we work and the work we do are all changing. There is much […]
