Summary of Findings
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A Global Challenge
Feedback from interviews in over 25 countries has persistently drawn our attention to one key point - that there is a significant disconnection between education systems and the needs of 21st century employers, both public and private. The match between what employers, individuals and governments seek and what respective education and training systems provide appears ill-fitting in many countries.
Effective education for employment is now a core driver of economic globalisation. While the findings suggest some country-specific skills demands, the requirements are consistent across the world. Businesses and organisations in different countries are looking for individuals with a similar set of behaviours, skills and knowledge that can be adapted to specific work conditions.
The Skills Race
The 'global skills race' is real and is intensifying. Levels of skills and education are vital components in the skills race and will increasingly determine the economic fortunes of many countries.
Many education challenges are now related to behaviours. It is becoming increasingly important for workers to have the right attitude, a willingness to learn and an understanding of how to conduct themselves in the workplace. These are the transferable qualities that many employers are seeking.
The Key Challenges
To deliver effective education for employment, we face the following key challenges:
1. developing shared employment profiles that connect employers to educators
2. incorporating knowledge, skills and behaviours into education and training programmes
3. building programmes that effectively stretch and develop these qualities for use in the real world
4. developing transferable qualities explicitly to connect academic with professional learning, progressively through the various stages of learning
5. building comprehensive, progressive learning frameworks
6. developing and extending the quality of teaching
7. assessing and certificating learners appropriately
8. sharing and promoting best practice.
We have summarised our findings in this diagram. This shows a typical education and economic cycle, the issues relating to each element in this cycle and ideas and recommendations for positive change.
