The workplace of today is changing at a dizzying pace, with more shifts escalating into the future — from where and how work gets done, to emerging technologies. Staying employed will require the ability to adapt, re-skill and reinvent. That was the focus of panelists in the session, “Preparing Michigan Students for the Future of Work,” hosted by The Skillman Foundation on Wednesday.

The session kicked off with remarks by national workforce expert and author Heather McGowan, who shared her insight on the future of learning. McGowan said today’s workforce is affected by what she called the Fourth Industrial Revolution at the intersection of automated processes, artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things (IoT). As a result, humans must move towards learning agility as well as becoming more adaptable and empathetic, to remain relevant in the workplace.