A new year brings new challenges and opportunities, including for those active in the international development sector. Now that COVID-19 has reshaped working processes all over the world, more and more young professionals are wondering what the trends in this regard will be in 2022. Check some career tips from Mawazo Mataje who has great expertise in the labor market.
Key takeaways
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- The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated existing trends in remote working and the international development sector is not an exception in this regard
- The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated existing trends in remote working and the international development sector is not an exception in this
- Vaccination, when discovered and approved by the major powers, was seen as a game-changer that allowed people to live and work normally
- Among the career tips and necessary skills for the 2022 job market, there is an orientation towards digital spaces, creativity and innovation, flexibility and adaptability, and a focus on geopolitics and economic
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“There is no doubt that the COVID-19 has reshaped and affected every society in one way or another including those who have a career as well as those looking for a job. As we plan our targets and objectives for 2022, there is so much to learn from 2020 both in terms of challenges and opportunities in view of COVID-19. Primarily, vaccination, when discovered and approved by major powers such as the US, China, Russia, UK, Israel, etc., was seen as a game-changer that allowed people to live a normal life. Nevertheless, that did not happen as quickly as the international community expected. What remains now seems to be that we need to accept the reality that COVID-19 should be part and parcel of our lives as we embark on fighting the virus especially now that we have experienced the emergence of different COVID-19 variants like the recent ‘omicron’.
Globally, young professionals have experienced different problems when looking for jobs although they make up the largest segment of the population. In light of the experience in 2019/2020, the pace and trends for young professionals’ careers in 2022 look promising compared to the last two years. Digital space is one of the tips for 2022 as its significance continues to rise and it will carry on dominating the careers of young professionals. With limited interactions and socialization, which once used to be a traditional way of life, for the year 2022 COVID-19 is expected to reshape how employers, international development partners, and players change in order to reflect and adapt to the new ways of working. Creativity and innovation are expected to have a paradigm shift on how employment opportunities change and the accommodation of COVID-19 is anticipated to be a pivotal part of that.
As young professionals enter the year 2022, flexibility and adaptability are crucial for career development for them. For a continent like Africa and in a country like Tanzania (where I come from), how adaptable and flexible you are makes a huge difference between young professionals seeking career development. One needs to be multi-skilled in order to grow and be able to learn new things as the world changes. We have been taught by COVID-19 that civilization does change and so does our way of looking for jobs and career development.
Another tip for young professionals in this year would be to consider the geopolitics and economic trends of the world. Most career development opportunities and jobs are informed by the priorities of global trends and politics. Smart climate justice, the blue economy, skills development for youth amongst others would be some of the areas to focus on. In the scope of COVID-19, the decisions made by development partners, donors, and major powers will reflect employment, career development, and jobs in these areas.”
If you are looking for a new assignment, don’t hesitate to check the DevelopmentAid job board which contains more than 8,000 job opportunities in the international development sector.
