Higher Education - Can It Prepare Today's Youths For The Job Market?

Source - bit.ly/1Le1L67

Did you know that there are 73 million youths worldwide who are currently looking for employment, even though numerous vacancies are still unfilled? In the US, 5 million positions remained vacant in May 2015; where as over 8 million people were searching for jobs across the country. Recently the OECD surveyed a number of countries and in those nations, 39 million young individuals are presently not in education or employment (NEET). The data provides a rather gloomy view of today's world.

What Employers Want

Source - bit.ly/1MxCTnd

Sebastien Turbot, Curator and Director of Content and Programs at WISE (World Innovation Summit for Education) , recently wrote in an article,

“Universities around the world are incessantly churning out qualified graduates but employers say there is an acute shortage of skilled workers. For employers, a college degree is no longer the only criteria that counts.”

Then what do employers want from candidates?

In the current technologically inclined economies, there is a strong demand for labour with STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) skills and it is growing further. Moreover, demands for candidates are transforming to “savoir-être” from “savoir-faire”, with a rising requirement for non-cognitive and soft skills. A number of studies and surveys reveal that organisations across the globe are want to recruit candidates who possess the 4 main traits, namely creativity, collaboration, critical thinking and communication.

Is higher #education equipping young people for the jobs market? @sturbot @WISE_Tweets http://t.co/EHgHkhBbQZ pic.twitter.com/ynmUDTV208

— World Economic Forum (@wef) July 12, 2015

Meeting The Demands Of Job Market 

Source - bit.ly/1BpIRDz

Turbot wrote,

“...millennials are expected to make up 75% of the workforce by 2025, though a significant number will never be employees in the traditional sense. So as we transition into an era where machines will perform mundane tasks, we need to build a workforce of 'creative entrepreneurs', who will be innovative, empathetic and equipped to tackle ambiguous challenges. ”

Does this mean that higher education is empowering our youths for the demands of the job market? As per the Education to Employment report by McKinsey, 70% of surveyed educators think that current graduates are effectively prepared for today's competitive job market. However, it seems that less that 50% fresh graduates and employers tend to agree. But who is actually responsible for this skills gap? The teachers or the employers? Or is the learners who might have opted for the wrong subjects?

Turbot added,

“In my opinion, before delving deeper into this raging blame game, we need to address the “perceptions gap”. The McKinsey report is just one of the many indicators to reflect that educators, entrepreneurs and young graduates are not on the same page.”

Source - bit.ly/1i03nR3

Need For Proper Collaboration

I believe we should start by getting the educators and employers to collaborate and work together in order to narrow the gap between the education our students need and the education our students have. Next, we must include the students as a crucial part of this discussion and help them gain real world experience. This will enable them to get the right information regarding what the employers want from them and what educators are offering them.

Sebastien Turbot concluded,

“...before we set off to redesign a new curriculum or decide that corporate universities and programs are the only to resolve the job market’s real needs, educators, learners and employers have to step into each other’s worlds.”

What do you think? Add to the discussion by sharing your views and opinions with us. Simply comment in the box below.

Source - linkd.in/1GpBhXo

UK Must Look Beyond It's Scepticism & Accept Online Education

Source - bit.ly/1JZ0W0v

Online education has gained immense popularity among both young and adult learners across the globe due to the wide range of benefits it offers. However, in the UK, eLearning is still considered in poor light. But I believe that it is now time to change our attitudes. With the student cap getting lifted and growing expansion opportunities, online learning provides an excellent solution for all UK universities to globally compete without the need for meeting capacity.

In the US, online courses have become one of the most preferred modes of earning a degree and it is no longer considered as a poor option. I think the UK needs to learn from the US experience and explore all opportunities for growth.

Source - bit.ly/1FqxlFe

 A Better Learning Experience

It is true that the student cap is one of the biggest drivers, but we also need to focus on the long term by catching a good share of the rising numbers of students worldwide looking for earning a recognised degree. According to the OECD, the volume of online learners will expand to 204 million from nearly 129 million by 2020. It also offers a solution to the challenges of reducing numbers of part time learners and developing the right type of higher education experience for individuals who are employed.

New reports from the Babson Survey Research Group reveals that almost 7.1 million US students pursuing higher education are studying at least one online programme as part of their desired degree. Experts predict that over 50% of the students in the US will pursue an online programme by 2018.

Moving eLearning To Mainstream 

Source - bit.ly/1N8xFyX

The Babson researchers discovered that those academic leaders who believe Online study courses offer the same or even better educational outcomes had increased to almost 74%. The fact is online diplomas and degrees are no more the domain of for-profit providers. In fact, more than 75% of all colleges and universities in the US are now offering options for online degrees. Now you can even find numerous online MBA and business degree programmes offered by leading institutes and business schools in the US as well as the UK.

But the debate rages on as to whether the academic standards in online education would ever be able to match the high standards followed by most traditional UK universities. The fact remains that the expansion of online learning has resulted from necessity. The opportunities for increasing the reach of education on a global level and for academic development is further boosting the demand for eLearning. This is further fueled by the cultural and social transformations brought in by technological advancements and and rising usage of mobile devices.

Overcoming Skepticism

As it is, UK institutions have an excellent history of online learning. The Open University has made a strong reputation for providing high quality and affordable online academic solutions and has emerged as one of the international leaders. There are also several traditional colleges and universities that have provided online learning opportunities for years. However, the courses offered by them was limited and was not seen as a part of mainstream education, but instead as an alternative.

But now it's time for UK to accept and embrace online education as fast as possible as the global higher education scenario is changing rapidly with further advancements in digital learning technology. We need to overcome skepticism by developing a clear understanding of regulation and retention of academic standards for all eLearning courses. Moreover, our students must also realise

Source - bit.ly/1BnhtbN

 the difference between non-accredited and accredited degrees.

Employers also need to recognise online business degrees so that learners will get excellent career opportunities. This will encourage aspiring managers and business leaders to pursue online MBA of other business degree from any reputed UK business school . It will help in making the learners a valuable addition to the workforce and also reduce the amount of student debt in the nation.

The Bottom Line

I believe that online courses offer a better option at earning higher education degrees as it offers high levels of accessibility, convenience and flexibility with affordable learning opportunities. There is no doubt that it is high time for the UK to embrace online education.

What are your thoughts about eLearning in the UK? Feel free to share your thoughts with us by commenting below.

Article Sources - bit.ly/1oTELsL, usat.ly/1JZ3c7Y