(Expansión) – It is not a cliché to say that “young people are the future”. In fact, it is a reality that we are living and that never ceases to surprise us, because in recent times more and more young people are revolutionizing the world.
In 2021, millennials and Generation Z became the majority in the global workforce. In fact, millennials hold the majority of jobs today, but it is estimated that in nine years Generation Z will be dominant.
We know that young people are the key to a better future throughout the world and in particular for Latin America. The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (CEPAL) indicates that the population of young people in Latin America is close to 160 million; many of them work and study, either full time or part time, which means that in one way or another they are learning and applying skills related to project management in their daily lives.
Something that changed my perspective was understanding that we should not work for young people but with young people because there is much to learn together. For example, its commitment to social impact. They aspire to generate a positive impact on their environment, are deeply committed to caring for the planet and seek balance between work and personal life while seeking ways to improve the world in which we live.
From the beginning, we have to recognize that young people approach activities or problems with a very different mentality from that of professionals of other generations. Therefore, it is necessary to carry out studies and research that allow us to better understand how the different segments of young people think, in order to support them in a particular way and not as it worked for us a few years ago.
This new generation of talent needs to be heard so we can inspire and empower them. We need to create an environment where people with different levels of experience can learn, collaborate and create a self-managed community that allows them to modify their reality and promote change.
It is at this point where project management skills are essential in a broader context than what is normally talked about; technical skills must be developed, but also driving skills such as creativity, collaborative leadership, innovative vision among others that support the learning community and business acumen.
We are committed to promoting and increasing the impact on new generations, both in their careers, their personal lives and also in the communities in which they live and work. You have to start the conversation with them, from when they are little to university students and young entrepreneurs.
Listen to them and support their initiatives so that their ideas become reality and transform the world for the benefit of all.
Our challenge is to find ways to work with all generations and take advantage of the resources that organizations like the Project Management Institute (PMI) have in order to provide mentoring and guidance on how to use skills in life and in your career.
There are many of us working on this, but the solution does not lie in the individual components, but in all the participants in this ecosystem (companies, associations, government, young people, professionals, among others) working in the same direction and being able to create tangible results now. long term.
Editor’s note: Ricardo Triana is Managing Director of PMI in Latin America. Follow him on . The opinions published in this column belong exclusively to the author.
