Chapter 19: Human Resource Development, Careers and Employability in an Era of Disruption

The world of work has undergone considerable changes, both in the type of careers and the emergence of new forms of work. This is linked to major changes in organisations including innovation, the development of new knowledge, increased competition and a variety of demographic and social factors (Hite and McDonald, 2020). Therefore, many organisations are in crisis mode, struggling to meet customer demand and expectations while ensuring the well-being of their staff in a hostile and competitive business environment (Dirani et al., 2020). COVID-19 has added an additional complication to this complex competitive agenda. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought about not only a global health crisis but has also adversely impacted many economies worldwide, with the loss of millions of lives and jobs. With vaccination programmes bringing hope of a revival, many countries are adapting to the new normal. Organisations have begun their evolution from initial reactive surprise at the scope and depth of the crisis to formulating strategies for recovery. Organisations find themselves having to restructure human resource development (HRD) strategies, primarily because of significant changes in most industries around the world (e.g., keen competition, business amalgamations, sector restructuring, change of employment regimes, changing career landscapes, extensive HRD budget cuts, etc.) (Hodder, 2020). The McKinsey Institute which tracks global economic trends suggests that COVID-19 has moved the conversation about the future of work into the present (Lund et al., 2020), accentuating the need for a long-term perspective that does not just rebuild from past models, but develops strategies that create resilience for future crises. At this point, there is much we do not know about the future of the workforce following COVID-19 pandemic, but we can expect changes in how, where and when work is accomplished. The pandemic has necessitated a change in thinking in the field of HRD, an evolution that changes the key role of HRD from that of developing human expertise to helping employees adapt to new challenges and circumstances while also leveraging resources that are required to respond accordingly (Byrd, 2020).