As the breadth and depth of technological change has grown, there has been understandable apprehension around the kind of skills people will need to thrive in the future. There has been consternation not only about the kind of skills we will need, but how we will ensure people have access to the training required to update their skillsets accordingly.
A recent report from Universities UK, the representative body for the university sector in the UK, aims to explore the future role of universities in meeting the workforce demands of the future. It assesses the kind of skills likely to be required by a future UK economy against the current provision of these skills, before investigating how universities can remain agile in a time of such uncertainty.
The changing world of work
The report begins along familiar lines, highlighting the speed of change wrought by the 4th industrial revolution. This precipitates a well-trodden demand for lifelong learning that will allow people to adapt their skills according to these changes. Of course, traditional degrees are anything but flexible and adaptive to changing requirements, so new modes of delivery are likely. The authors thankfully also admit that a much greater focus will need to be given to adult education to help facilitate this.
“These trends will require some fundamental changes to the approaches taken to post-18 education and training, with much more attention paid to the years beyond the immediate post-18 period,” they say. “Solutions that allow for an increased need for investment in flexible lifelong learning will be required.”
What’s more, this is only likely to grow as more and more jobs demand higher level skills from people. It’s a conundrum that the authors believe can only be solved by closer collaboration with universities, development of existing employees and a widening of the talent pool. Perhaps unsurprisingly, these are all areas where they believe that universities can play a key role.
They do accept however the need to change, with future provision focusing not just on technical skills, but also the kind of skills that will help people survive in such a fast moving world. Things like resilience and ability to constantly learn are areas likely to be important, as will an ability to manage one’s career.
New modes of learning
Sadly, the report then rather peters out, as the section on how universities might adapt to meet this demand is very light on substance, and instead focuses more on the demand for skills than the ability to supply them. This is peculiar, as is the lack of any mention given to MOOCs, which whilst not perfect do provide the kind of low-cost, modular education that is likely to be crucial in future. British universities have taken to this model of provision enthusiastically, and indeed, only recently the University of London announced a partnership with Google that will see the Google IT Support Professional Certificate, which can be taken by students via Coursera, will qualify as an entry into the BSc degree in Computer Science offered by the university or alternatively provide a certified entry point into the IT support world.
Similarly, despite identifying the challenges inherent in the possible technological disruption of low-skilled work, it offers little in the way of solace or solution to those lower-skilled adults who may need to retrain to re-enter the workforce again. It rightly identifies the reducing relevance of any distinction between academic and vocational qualifications in a world in which the skills people have are more important than the institution or course they gained them from, but lack of motivation remains a challenge.
Indeed, a recent report from online course provider Udemy revealed that around half of respondents were not interested in learning or updating their skills.
“Not only do these people have the most negative perspective on their future prospects and the country’s competitiveness, they are frowned upon by the other two groups. Our research suggests a strong stigma around both unemployment and lack of self-motivation, which could harden the negativity of those on the receiving end,” the report says.
The future belongs to the motivated
It perhaps unsurprisingly goes on to highlight how those with the motivation to learn and adapt their skills in response to the changing world around them will be best placed to thrive in the workplace.
“Those who see the writing on the wall—that job skills will evolve, that technology will require them to change job functions, that a college education can’t prepare them for their entire careers—recognize the urgency to upskill,” they say. “They’re hungry and motivated to learn, and they’re already doing what it takes to stay relevant in a fast-moving job market.”
All of which creates a rather bleak outlook for those who lack such motivation. In the UK, the apprenticeship levy was an attempt to provide alternative methods of education, but it has largely failed to deliver the required results.
It underlines the tremendous importance of providing people with the right attitude towards learning, and indeed life generally, at as early a stage as possible. Not only do young people need the tools to learn, but they need the attitude to tackle the skills challenges they will face head on.
In an age where learning is neither confined or limited to the classroom, but rather something that happens continuously throughout life, it’s crucial that we have a population whereby people feel able to continuously adapt to and evolve with the changing skills requirements.
The government can also play a role in ensuring that societal focus doesn’t remain solely on traditional forms of education in delivering the lifelong learning that’s required. This will almost certainly serve to stifle the sector in its ability to approach lifelong learning creatively and embed it as a natural and fundamental part of our life and work. The school>work>retire model is increasingly defunct, and the future will see work and learning blend into one.
A love of learning underpins this, and education should not become a tick box exercise that does nothing but allow you to advance to the next stage of your career. As emphasis shifts towards skills learned rather than accreditation gained, it’s a mindset change that cannot be overstated. The test now is for society to respond to the challenge.
