Oracy skills are soon to become the determining factor in the world of work, says Natasha Goodfellow
A few days ago, my partner sent me an Instagram post spoofing how a jobhunting dog might present itself on Linkedin. ‘I followed my human to every room’ became ‘I’m proud to share that I’ve been actively involved in Human Supervision and Emotional Support operations’. ‘Demanded snacks immediately after eating’ became ‘led initiatives in snack acquisition strategy’; while ‘barked at absolutely nothing’ became ‘early detection of human movement’. It finished with the line that the dog was ‘looking forward to scaling [its] impact and optimising attachment levels’.
This may or may not have been created by AI – ‘puffery uppery’ is nothing new, after all, but it seemed to me to capture how AI is so often used – to make the banal sound impressive; to hide a lack of thought or understanding behind a barrage of supposedly sophisticated language. As an editor, I’m regularly asked to read articles, presentations and reports that, at first glance at least, sound impressive, but which often fall down on closer reading. Almost everyone now can produce a decent-sounding pitch or essay with just a simple prompt; minimal thought required.
But this is not an article about the dangers of AI, manifold though they are, it’s about the way I think it will make oracy skills all the more important.
Arriving as the post did in the same week that Amazon announced it was cutting 16,000 of its white-collar jobs (around 10 per cent of its office staff) and that the media reported that driverless taxis will be operating in London later this year, it got me thinking. It seems pretty clear that AI is going to result in larger-scale job losses. The Harvard Business Review reports that ‘leading CEOs—including those from Ford, Salesforce, and JP Morgan Chase—have proclaimed that many white-collar jobs at their companies will soon disappear’. The Guardian wrote recently that ‘Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said AI could destroy swathes of jobs in the capital and “usher in a new era of mass unemployment”’.
Of course, not all jobs will go; it will just be harder to get those that do exist. And since, as our canine friend shows, anyone can now make themselves sound like a superstar on their CV (and indeed in many aspects of their actual jobs), how will employers sort the wheat from the chaff? How will they find the people who understand AI is a tool for sharper thinking, rather than something that does the thinking for you?
‘Interviews are likely to become more important than ever,’ says Louisa Searle, the ESU’s Director of Education, pointing to news that Oxford University has recently scrapped all tests for classics, English, philosophy and modern languages, relying solely on interviews instead. ‘Employers and universities alike will be looking for evidence of critical thinking, flexible thinking and a willingness to engage with new ideas.’
Employers especially will also be looking for people who can work as a team, who can communicate their ideas effectively and persuasively, and who can work towards finding solutions, even if individuals disagree. Research is already bearing this out: a recent survey by Indeed found that more than two thirds (67 per cent) of employers say they value soft skills more than educational qualifications when hiring. ‘Oracy skills have always been important,’ says Louisa, ‘but they are likely to become the defining factor for career success. Teaching young people to speak out, to have confidence in themselves and their ideas, and not to hide behind technology might be the single most important thing we as educators can do.’
Find out more about our oracy competitions and workshops.
