The world of education was never faced with a bigger challenge than it is facing today. At the school level, the old concepts of imparting knowledge have already been thrown out of the window, as reflected in innovative curricula and formats developed by technology-driven institutions.
The scenario at the tertiary education level is far more complex and there is widespread criticism that many of the graduates churned out by universities do not have the skill sets needed in the current market.
Tertiary education is therefore at a crossroads because of the Fourth Industrial Revolution that is turning the job market upside down. Many of the jobs that were open to fresh graduates are disappearing, or about to disappear from the radar.
Jobseekers need something more than mere degrees and diplomas to survive, because artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, nanotechnology, 3D printing, biotechnology and genetics have altered the landscape completely.
The pace of change is not just dramatic but also frightful. In 2018, a LinkedIn survey revealed that most companies’ focus areas had switched to cloud computing, statistical analysis, and data mining skills. Two years later, the scenario had changed, with blockchain and analytical reasoning emerging as the top desired skill sets.
Disturbing scenario
A 2020 World Economic Forum (WEF) study painted a disturbing picture of a world changed by the pace of technology adoption, one that is set to transform jobs – and their associated skill sets – by 2025. Almost half of the businesses surveyed by the WEF were already planning to reduce their workforce because of technology integration.
The study predicted that many existing job categories would be obliterated, but it also provided a glimmer of hope that new jobs would be created along the way, possibly outpacing those lost, with increased opportunities for remote working.
The key takeaway from the study is that the new roles would require much greater integration with machines, leading to an increased demand for cross-disciplinary skills, such as critical thinking, problem-solving and self-management.
While high unemployment is a common problem worldwide, the Arab countries have the highest and the fastest growing unemployment rate of young people worldwide – 24.8 percent in 2022, according to a 2022 study by ILO. The report says a ray of hope would come from the expansion of green and blue (ocean resources and their sustainable use) economies.
Changing role of universities
In this scenario, the role of tertiary education is becoming increasingly important. It is a daunting task for universities to keep up with these disruptive developments. They seriously need to consider change because the student community would expect not only value for money but an education that would give them jobs to survive, if not to prosper.
The common refrain among employers is that many of the graduates they hire are ill-equipped to join the workforce. As a reaction, employers are increasingly adopting a “skills-first hiring” approach. What we learn from this is that a university degree is still essential, but only if it is tempered with soft skills.
We all know that knowledge involves two strongly inter-linked components: content and skills. The Conference Board of Canada explains this very effectively. Content includes facts, ideas, principles, evidence and descriptions of processes or procedures. Most instructors, at least in universities, are well-trained in content and have a deep understanding of the subject areas they teach.
But expertise in skills development though is another matter. The issue here is not so much that instructors do not help students develop skills – they do – but whether these intellectual skills match the needs of knowledge-based workers, and whether enough emphasis is given to skills development within the curriculum, according to the Conference Board of Canada.
New skill sets
The key to results-oriented tertiary education is blending academic learning with new skill sets that would have in their ambit complex problem-solving skills, along with advanced communication, team working, business understanding, leadership and other behavioural skills.
Classroom learning, as we know it, has to be altered to foster collaboration with peers on real-life group projects – virtually as well as in person – to enable students to meet people from campuses all over the world.
We should encourage an entrepreneurial mindset so that students can work in self-directed ways that are critical in the modern workplace.
The next major focus area should be stronger collaboration and more regular interaction with industry, with the goal of tapping into their up-to-the-minute knowledge to help inform the design of academic courses and to share experiences and insights directly with students.
In other words, universities need to embed emerging skills in their curricula, while imparting the multidisciplinary skills that will hold the key to any successful career.
This will boost graduate employability, and help universities to fulfil their goals of academic excellence, and position themselves as institutions committed to supporting the lifelong learning that will equip and empower the workforce of the future.
Links with industry
This could be achieved through proactive measures from higher education institutions. One way to reach this goal would be to have an industry advisory committee in each tertiary education institution to suggest changes to the curriculum and align it more closely to the needs of the market. The instructors or professors need to get more proactive in embedding skills within the students.
We must realise that the role of faculty has undergone a change: A faculty member is no longer just a teacher; he is a facilitator. This means that faculty members need to go the extra mile to stay up-to-date with emerging skills.
The challenge is huge but it is not insurmountable. Concerted efforts by academics, industry leaders and the government would go a long way in creating a new roadmap for a changed higher education landscape.