Future-Proofed Learning: Partnerships Between Education and Business for the Digital Age
Have you ever reflected on your compulsory education? The curriculum, diverse and engaging, will have provided tasks and experiences that helped you build knowledge and cultivate skills that were invaluable not only for finding and retaining a job, but also everyday life.
Whilst the education landscape is continuously changing, there is much debate among policymakers and think tanks about whether, and how, it can keep pace with the skills and competency demands of the digital era.
In a post-industrial society, the learning outcomes of education systems around the world are vital for economic growth, mobility and innovation. As we near the quarter mark of the 21st century, digital technologies are already omnipresent in educational content and instructional processes — the influence of which is expanding access to information and reshaping how students learn. This evolution must continue if we are to prepare future generations for the roles that will fuel the economy and tackle social and environmental issues.
Funding is one critical component of this evolution. In April 2024, The Confederation of School Trusts, the national organisation and sector body for school trusts in England, published its Funding Futures[1] report proposing a new funding approach for state schools. The report was launched alongside pro bono research conducted[2] by Compass Lexecon on the direct and indirect economic consequences of investing in education.
The research findings are fascinating. They show that a 10% increase in educational spending in the UK each year would generate ï¿¡1,100 billion in investment value between 2024-2080, underscoring the productivity and societal boost that goes with enhancing the skills of the workforce.
Knowledge-intensive industries and societies need people with technical skills — be they coding, programming or data analysis. Computer science education can help to foster the development of some of these skills, but not all students have access to these classes. Hence, for the past few years, FTI Consulting has partnered with Code.org, a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to closing the technology gap amongst young people by providing every student with an hour of code.
Beyond tech, tomorrow’s businesses will also need people with soft skills in problem-solving, critical thinking, collaboration, resilience, creativity, ethics, and adeptness at persuasion and leadership.
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Businesses have an important role to play in supporting the development of all these essential workplace skills in young people. Like many companies, FTI Consulting works in partnership with universities and colleges on learning programmes and recruitment drives to enhance students’ readiness for the workplace. Given the workforce challenges that lie ahead, businesses must redouble their efforts in this area and engage with students in their earlier years through open days, workshops, mentoring and collaborative programmes that will help them align what they learn to the real-world activities of industries.
Collaborations with organisations like Girls Who Code, The Talent Tap, upReach, Young Citizens, and countless other social enterprises dedicated to enhancing employability, future skills and social mobility are now essential for helping young people develop the skills that they, and society, need to thrive.?
The existing disconnect between the skills that businesses need in the workplace and the training that future talent receives will only widen if high-tech and interpersonal skills are not a priority within educational establishments. As with many of society’s biggest challenges, future-proofed learning cannot be delivered through policy alone. It will also require more collaboration between education and business for the good of wider society.
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[2] The Returns to Investing in Education - Compass Lexecon