Vocational education's value in a world where workforce skills matter more than ever
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The task of forecasting what skills are required in the future is a challenging task for education experts. As advancements in technology and automation take place across global industries, the demand for refined, up-to-date skills are as important as ever for today’s workers.
According to Pearson commissioned research, there are seven megatrends that have been identified as the core variables that are set to fundamentally influence the future of employment, as well as the way we learn, teach, and apply knowledge by 2030. These megatrends are:
- Technological change
- Globalisation
- Demographic change
- Environmental sustainability
- Urbanisation
- Increasing inequality
- Political uncertainty
By unpacking the requisite knowledge, skills, attitudes and values that learners need in the new world of work, it reveals three key areas to understand deeply in order to increase one’s employability:
- The technical, hands-on skills that one undertakes to do their set of tasks (hard skills)
- The ability to make the best, most efficient use of technology and understanding how to analyse, contextualise and interpret data (digital skills)
- The skills that combine people skills, communication skills, and areas involving critical thinking and problem solving (soft skills)
Learners who package together the aforementioned skill areas (hard, digital and soft skills) to build a well-rounded future skills repertoire – or otherwise referred to as workforce skills – set themselves up for success and increase their professional potential.
Is the academic route the be-all and end-all further education option?
Historically thought of as a fall-back course of action, vocational education is rising as a first, popular further education choice for today’s learners who either seek employment sooner or are taking an alternative route to university.
Simon Young, Pearson Asia’s BTEC Portfolio Manager, says that there has been a general tendency to focus on traditional, academic pathways and study as being the only option for learners to get to university. But, as Simon notes, not all university graduates are ready for the new world of work.
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“[That’s] part of the challenge in that if we look at the output of graduates and what companies tell us, it’s that those graduates generally are not work ready. And companies complain or request that graduates have more employability skills, and this is part of the fact that in the academic setting you're learning subjects which are very prestigious and academic by nature and perhaps lack some of those practical, orientated aspects whereby you’re learning and passing tests, rather than learning and applying your knowledge.
“I think that entry point into the universities is the heart of the problem. While I think that the traditional route is seen as the long-standing route that many learners have taken, and there’s perhaps some history repeating itself, so if a brother or sister went through that route then it’s obvious that the parent would suggest that the learner also goes through that route, and I think that has built up a perception that the academic pathway is the only way to get to university, whereas the reality is it’s not.”
A vocational education does more than just provide learners with tangible workplace skills
When we think about all the learners and the potential opportunities for learners in the global education market, there is a large group of people who can’t currently access a university degree in a traditional setting, notes Simon.
By embedding vocational, professional qualifications within institutional offerings, Simon suggests that we'll be able to open alternative routes and give learners many more choices, which is going to improve output and in turn improve productivity.
“The more we can drive change and present alternatives to learners is going to have some beneficial impacts in a number of ways: [notably], that more learners will be able to access university, because not all learners can get into a prestigious academic route, either because of selection criteria or their learning style, and they may prefer a more practical learning style, so it’s going to open more opportunities for more learners to get into universities. Then the output is going to be more improved, so you have learners who will have academic equivalency with a vocational route but with the addition of applied skills.”
It’s time to think about vocational education differently
To overcome the stigma attached to vocational education, as well as the thought of it being a secondary further education option rather than a sought-after option, all stakeholder groups must play their part, notes Simon.
“Firstly, it rests in the employers recognising [vocational] qualifications. Secondly, [it involves] more engagement with parents and educating them on the potential pathways and the options open to learners. So, if we look at Pearson’s BTEC qualifications system, it’s a very well-trodden path to university.
“Thirdly, also talking to learners to give them wider and deeper careers advice as to their options. And that role rests with governments and government agencies to ensure that advice and guidance is provided to learners from an early stage – it also rests with educating counsellors at colleges, schools, and various institutions who provide training.”
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