How to prepare for jobs?

It seems to me that good planning, education and training are the best way to prepare our workforce. Good planning is important, since our economic model is changing all the time and what used to be a good job in 1990 may offer little future today. We must know better what are future needs are; namely, how many car mechanics, electricians, doctors, accountants, will be needed at specific points in the future. So it would seem that a system that can anticipate the shift and the foreseeable needs in work force has to work hand in hand with our school and higher education systems. The problem inherent with these institutions however is that they don’t seem to be nimble and adaptable enough to keep up with the swift changes that are underpinning our modern economy and with that situation, a lot of opportunities may me missed by job-seekers and employers alike. So what should be done? Probably change our paradigm that education is somehow a stable and well defined institution when it should in fact be as fluid and adaptable as the internet or our modern international markets, in “real time.” This clearly calls for training that’s on a fast track, modular and can quickly shift towards new needs, new technologies, new ideas and changing opportunities. Are we ready for such a new system? Probably not yet, we are still far from that situation, as our educational institutions and infrastructures have too much inertia and are not equipped to respond fast enough to an ever-changing and accelerating employment landscape.