COVID-19 has forced companies, organizations, and individuals to react, reposition themselves, rethink their approaches, and adopt new ways of thinking. Flight attendants have become healthcare workers, cultural workers are being recruited to work as berry pickers, and young gamers are serving as teaching assistants. In times of crisis, adaptation is required, and it must happen quickly. On May 8, Forum for Social Innovation Sweden the South, NetPort Science Park, and Region Blekinge held the first installment of the digital discussion series “Re-Act: A digital discussion series on reskilling, transition, and collaboration during rapid shifts.” The purpose of the discussion was to provide a historical retrospective on reskilling and transition in times of crisis, but also to discuss which skills are actually valued in Sweden today. Could this crisis influence society’s perspective on and reassessment of knowledge and skills?
“Thirty years ago, I put forward a theory that people with spinal cord injuries should be specially trained as air traffic controllers or assigned to command centers precisely because they are less prone to stress. This highlights a particular aspect of this: if you are open-minded enough or open enough, you can find qualities in these individuals that make them more suited than others for specific tasks.”Claes Hultling
“It’s really great that we gamers aren’t just being made the scapegoats anymore; now we’re something people are paying attention to. We’re just operating in a different medium.”Alexandra Fura
“We need to be able to identify what we’re actually good at, rather than just looking at what’s on our résumés. We need to be able to develop internal professional development and transfer our knowledge within organizations so that positions become available and it becomes easier to recruit at lower levels of the skill hierarchy.”Malin Faraasen
Watch the recording later!
Would you like to watch the first episode of our Re-Act series? Or would you like to share the episode with your colleagues or friends? Watch the full episode via thislink.
We've put together some tips!
Are you curious to learn more about reskilling and career transition? Here you’ll find plenty of recommendations for interesting reading from the listeners who joined the discussion on May 8!
The Guardian
- The world cannot return to 'business as usual' after Covid-19, say mayors
- Amsterdam to adopt the 'doughnut' model to rebuild the post-coronavirus economy
DN Debate (Swedish and English)
- “Social challenges call for a focus on adult development”
- “Societal challenges require investments in adult development”
YouTube
Other publications and tips
- Europe's Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA)
- Salutogenic Architecture in Healthcare Settings
- Salutogenic Architecture: The Search for a Healthy Society
- “Knowledge and the City” (examples from Bangalore and Bilbao)
- Teal School
Don't miss the next call!
We would like to take this opportunity to let you know that the next installment of the “Re-Act” discussion series will take place on June 12 at 9:00 a. m. We will, of course, provide you with more information about the content and participants shortly.
Forum for Social Innovation Sweden, in collaboration with NetPort Science Park, Region Blekinge, Malmö University, and the City of Malmö
