The 26th Annual Global CEO Survey, released last month by PwC, paints a stark picture of a world in a state of transition. Most strikingly, 40 percent of company CEOs believe that their companies will be economically unviable in a decade without significant change. Evolving customer preferences, new regulation, skills shortages, technological disruption, supply chain issues and changes to new energy sources were all identified as the forces most likely to impact profitability.
The gloominess of CEOs is perhaps unsurprising. Although we in the UAE have so far shown remarkable resilience, many countries around the world have witnessed a profound period of instability, first with the pandemic and more recently with inflation and sluggish economic growth.
A more optimistic CEO, taking a longer-term view, might argue that history shows that in all likelihood the economic difficulties will pass, growth will return, supply chain issues will normalise, and new energy sources, technology and regulation will produce new opportunities in a safer and greener world for those who show ingenuity.
The issue of skills shortages is to my mind a far more serious one and requires our immediate action and attention, as these shortages will not normalise without policy changes. A significant change to our education system is required.
How you identify the skills we should be equipping our young people with was rightly described at the World Economic Forum by UAE Minister of Education Ahmad Belhoul Al Falasi as “the billion-dollar question.”
The truth is that we cannot know what the labour market will look like in tomorrow’s economy. The pace of change is too fast. The risk we face is that a student starting a degree today may find their degree is out of date by the time they graduate. How do we at universities prepare the next generation of employees for their futures when so many of their prospective employers are so unsure of their own futures?
A new model of education is required.
As the UAE’s Education Minister highlighted at Davos, the answer lies in the promotion of interdisciplinary education and focusing on enhancing a students’ soft skills. In doing this we can develop a student’s “learnability,” by which we mean their capacity to learn. Whilst also encouraging an ability to solve complex problems and developing a willingness to grow and adapt to new situations.
This may sound a little vague to those of you, who like me, attended university, and studied a single discipline or a specific vocational degree, but interdisciplinarity is not new. Many of the most successful businesses and emerging industries in the world are interdisciplinary: the fintech sector, which thrives here in the UAE, is a prime and obvious example.
Moreover, businesses frequently depend for their success on the ability of employees to collaborate across disciplines to manage projects and deliver innovative products and services. Working in disciplinary silos is seldom an option in today’s disruptive environment.
Forward thinking employers recognise that these changes are essential. They understand that their companies, industries, and the world around them is changing and that those who do not evolve will not survive.
For an employer the technology skills a student learns in university or at school may be useful tomorrow, but we can be almost certain that those skills will not be in demand in a decade. No one can predict which industry that automation or artificial intelligence will disrupt next. Clearly the ability to adapt is crucial.
Coupled with this is the fact that the careers of today look different to the careers of yesterday. In the not-so-distant past it was not unusual to spend your entire working life with one company. Now the average job lasts just 2.5 years. And these are not just moves within industries: a survey of the MENA region by Bayt.com found that 56 percent of professionals were hoping to move job this year, with three in every four of those planning on a “complete change” in the industry they work in.
We must prepare graduates for this new reality. The need to reskill during a career is not simply an option for today’s young people, it is a necessity. Those who succeed in continually renewing themselves, are committed to ongoing personal development and have the wherewithal to adjust to the world as it changes will be the ones who are most successful. Our job is to embed this mindset in our students: to encourage them to view their careers and approach to learning as dynamic, not static.
The degree programmes of today therefore need to be considered an investment in our people and the skills of the future. These are problem-solving skills, which are grounded in analytical and critical thinking, creativity and originality; the ability to manage ourselves whilst also developing resilience and flexibility; the people skills of collaboration, communication, influence and leadership; and an openness and embrace of technology.
Anyone equipped with those skills will find themselves in demand, ready for the future and immune to disruption.
*Professor Paul J Hopkinson is the Dean of the College of Interdisciplinary Studies at Zayed University. Hopkinson has worked in academia for over 20 years and held a variety of leadership roles in UK and UAE education institutions. Prior to embarking on his academic career, he held technical and commercial roles in the aerospace and telecommunications industries.