The Future of Work takes centre stage at 2019 Lagos Business School Alumni Day

When conversations on the future of work are raised, a lot of people tend to think of robots and automation taking over jobs. This misconception was corrected at the 2019 edition of the Lagos Business School Alumni Day where thought leaders and industry experts gathered to discuss the Future of Work and what it portends for Nigeria and Africa.

Held at the Honeywell Auditorium on November 21, 2019, the event started with an Economic Session presentation delivered by Founding Managing Director, Agusto & Co, Olabode Agusto. Titled, “Macroeconomic Outlook and Implications for the Ability of Banks to Grow Loans to the Private Sector”, Agusto touched on the Macroeconomic Outlook for 2020, growing loans to the private sector and how the banking sector is positioned to do this. 

He said, “Nigeria’s banking sector can support economic growth by growing loans to the private sector. One of the ways to achieve this is financial intermediation i.e. taking deposits and lending these deposits to businesses that will grow output.” Agusto added that the banking sector, however, needs to be healthy – have a low level of bad loans and adequate capital to absorb losses – to achieve this.

Secretary to the Lagos State Government, Folashade Jaji read a goodwill message from the Executive Governor of the state, Babajide Sanwoolu to his fellow alumni and the management of LBS.

Setting the pace for the day’s conversation, Conference Chairman, Group Managing Director, Greenwich Trust, Kayode Falowo asked a few questions on the Future of Work that provided perspective for the attendees. Some of the questions include, “Is your workplace equipped to meet the demands of the future workplace?”, “Do we have the right skill set to remain competitive in the future workplace?”, “What are the regulatory and legal frameworks in Nigeria to weather the storm of disruption?” among others.

Guest speaker, Partner, Human Capital Advisory | Future of Work, Deloitte, Germany, Michael Liley unpacked the concept of Future of Work by providing what he described as an “optimistic outlook” to the topic. 

According to Liley, “two out of three leaders believe that AI machines are augmenting human capabilities, not replacing humans. They also believe using AI machines will change jobs, not take them away. Although machines are entering the workforce, humans and machines will work alongside each other”.

Liley declared that everyone needs to acknowledge that all jobs in the future will have technology at their core as working with machines will redesign jobs in a way that humans will want to do it. 

The event continued with a panel session with Olufunke Amobi, Country Head, Human Capital, Stanbic IBTC; Chika Nwobi, Founder/CEO, Decagon Institute; Tunji Adegbesan, Founder, Gidi Mobile; Joel Ogunsola; SSA to the Ondo state governor on Innovation and Partnerships; and Richard Arowolo, Full-time MBA 18 Class President. 

Moderated by LBS Faculty, Eugene Ohu, the conversation at the session was well-rounded as the panelists spoke from varied perspectives with Amobi challenging organisations to drive an inclusive culture and create multiple career options to fit employees from different generations. 

One of the crucial takeaways from the event is that ICT has the highest demand and highest number of jobs newly created, and trending professions are in the creative industry, food technology, 3D design, education, care and health sectors. 

The event closed with the president of the host class (CEP 26), Toyin Sanni thanking all alumni members in attendance for their support, LBS Dean, Enase Okonedo for her leadership, and LBS Alumni Association president, Clare Omatseye for providing the platform.

The Alumni Day is one of the platforms LBS uses to ensure continuous learning for its alumni while also facilitating networking opportunities across the association. 

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