Pearson: Upskilling GCC workforce will help stabilise employment
Education expert points to recent findings of WEF 'Future of Jobs' report to make the case for workplace education and training.
A recent report from the World Economic Forum (WEF) has found that developments in fields such as artificial intelligence and machine-learning, robotics, nanotechnology, 3-D printing, and genetics and biotechnology, will cause widespread disruption not only to business models but also to labour markets over the next five years, with enormous change predicted in the skill sets needed to thrive in the new landscape.
The Future of Jobs, released in January of this year, has great pertinence for the Middle East region, according to Frank Edwards, Head of Workforce Development at Pearson Middle East.
“As outlined in this report, the next few years will see widespread disruption in the workforce due to the technological revolution currently taking place, both here in the Middle East and around the world. Some industries will go into decline, but others will grow and new industries will be created. Increasingly, new skill sets will be demanded by employers looking to take advantage of the opportunities presented by the digital revolution unfolding. Meeting this new demand will require fostering 21st Century skills in school, secondary and higher education, but we also need to look at providing those already working with ongoing training and development so they can maintain – and increase – their value in the workforce”.
While the Report examines future workforce disruption from a global perspective, its findings and recommendations are particularly relevant for the Middle East region, where many of the region’s economies – heavily dependent on oil revenues – are looking to expand and diversify rapidly. With unemployment rates above global norms in many Middle East countries, there is some urgency with which the private and public sectors in the region need to build highly skilled and future-ready workforces.
Mr Edwards says:
“Nowhere is preparing for future workforce disruption more important than in the MENA region where unemployment rates – at between 21 and 25 percent – are some of the highest in the world, and where a skills gap is already one of the most urgent challenges for policy makers and educators. We therefore need to heed the recommendations of this Report and start to look at ways we can prepare the current and future generation of workers for the future reality of the world of work”.
Rethinking existing approaches to education should be an immediate focus, according to the Report. The Report suggests that traditional, 20th Century practices in classrooms and lecture halls are hindering the development of a highly effective and flexible labour market. The Report recommends that industry consult more broadly with governments and educators so that education systems become more closely aligned with labour market needs.
Frank Edwards agrees that embedding 21st century skills into all levels of curriculum, and providing learners with the transferable competencies employers demand is essential to building a future-ready flexible workforce.
“A 14 year old currently enrolled in high school will in all likelihood have a job in the future which does not even exist now. So how can we possibly educate that 14 year old for his future career? The answer is not about the content that we give to that student. The answer is about the general transferable competencies that an education can provide that student that are applicable across a variety of professions and industries. Communication, strategic, problem-solving and analytical skills are the skills that will help workers of the future succeed in work and become valuable to their employers. We therefore need to reassess the current focus of education on learning content and knowledge (although this remains important) and look to helping our students become proficient in the competencies that are most valued in the changing and dynamic world of work, both now and in the future”.