New skills for a new world of work

Susan Brooks, Head of NorthWood Senior, looks at how recent developments could shape our outlook in the future...

The coronavirus outbreak has forced many of us to change how and where we work. Many of us are having to learn new skills and master new technology in order to stay in touch with our clients and teams. Although many of these ways of working have been around for a while, the unprecedented events of recent months have caused most to pause and to think of ways to adapt. Whilst we all hope that life will return to a semblance of normality before too long, the changes facing many of us in our working lives does give a taste of a new world of work to come.

Those of us in education have long been following these new trends and have kept a close eye on the changes to working practices that our pupils will have to face in the years ahead; after all, we want to enable our pupils to survive in this new world of work and be well-equipped for successful futures.

We want to help young people develop the right skills for this new world of work. Skills such as resilience, empathy, collaboration, teamwork, adaptability and curiosity will matter far more than the ability to simply retain knowledge and regurgitate it in an exam.

So why then is our education system still so focused on teaching in the ways that suited the working practices of the past? Rote learning large amounts of information suited a workforce that was going to need to complete routine tasks over and over again. To survive and compete in the new world – and a world in which our young people need to compete internationally, we must do more to give them the type of educational experience that will enable them to take their place in the world with confidence.

Yet our education system lags behind the fast pace of change in the world of work. So much of what we do as educators is hampered by the need to ‘prove’ and test’. Many schools are questioning whether GCSEs are really fit for purpose, with some schools saying that the curriculum is too rigid and are putting young people under increasing pressure for little real purpose.

I am not suggesting that exams and pressure are necessarily always bad, however I firmly believe that education is about far, far more than simply evaluating young people with a set of grades.

The fundamental skills needed for the future include such abilities as critical thinking skills: how do you find information, how do you know what you are reading is reliable and trustworthy, and how do you test and check that against other sources? Google has taken away the need to memorise large amount of information, instead we need to distil what we read to get the information that we are looking for; in the world of fake news and the politician’s sound bite the ability to think critically for oneself is imperative. As well, time and project management skills: the ability to independently plan a project, set time targets and follow through to the creation of a presentation, either in written or verbal format. The current and future job landscape will favour transferable skills like communication, collaboration, self-direction, trustworthiness, initiative and flexibility. The curriculum and assessment system should reflect this and allow opportunities for young people to develop and hone these skills.

Far more relevant assessment systems would include project qualifications, coursework, delivering professional speeches, open book exams or group task assessments. Educators need the time in the curriculum to allow children to build these skills over a number of years, but the drive to exams leaves little time to enable this to happen. We need to be able to provide opportunities for pupils to practise their communication skills, both verbal and non-verbal to gain the confidence to articulate ideas and ask questions; to practise virtual teamwork through the use of different technologies; and to build their resilience and initiative by allowing opportunities for failure.

I believe that education’s true role is to equip young people with the right skills for life – not just the exam. If we can awaken a joy and love of learning, they will carry that with them for life. If we can help them understand that life is not always easy – that there will be set-backs – but help them to overcome obstacles, they will move forwards with determination. If we can help them make links between subjects and work together as teams, they will be well equipped for the styles of work they will face in the future. However, much, much more importantly, if we can help young people believe that there IS a life beyond simply getting the right grade and enjoying an education that is not rigidly about teaching to the test, we will engage, enthuse and harness a child’s natural enthusiasm and remove the stress and associated mental health issues that so often go with the pressure of exams.

I am delighted to see that many fellow Heads are questioning the validity of our examinations system and I applaud those schools calling for change. The more schools that can put into place new ways to teach – and yes, still ‘test’ but in far more meaningful and relevant ways – that not only stretch, and enthuse, but give young people the confidence to face their future with confidence, the better – for them and for all of us. After all, our futures all depend on the education our young people receive today.

This article first appeared in the 2020/21 edition of Which London School? & the South-East, which you can view in full here: