The redundancy of education?

The advertising legend Rory Sutherland recently produced a podcast which discussed the case against education. Speaking as someone who failed five out of seven Highers at school and barely scraped into university at a time when entry requirements were evidently lower than they are today, this is a subject close to my heart. 

There are certain industries that I think have a responsibility to broadly reflect society at large. Teaching, journalism and advertising all come to mind. These industries are required to communicate with all corners of society and are therefore surely better placed to do so if they broadly reflect the people they are speaking to. While the advertising industry has made attempts to move in the right direction, it is widely felt that we haven’t yet gone far enough.

One of the reasons for this is how we select candidates for interview based on their level of education.

The podcast explains that many companies use the standard criteria of attaining a 2:1 or above in any kind of degree. This rules out around 25% of people that pursue university education, and many more who chose an alternative path altogether.

But what is the problem with education? Sir Ken Robinson argues that the modern education system was created in a Victorian era when the world of work was dominated by heavy industry. Employers were looking for compliance, consistency and reliability. The world of work has moved on. The UK is a service based economy to the tune of 80%. Employers today value creative thinking, brilliant communication skills and a resilient character. But many people feel the education system hasn’t evolved as quickly as the work place.

However, one school that is trying to buck that trend is Newbattle High School. Newbattle are one of a number of schools who have signed up to the Pre-Apprenticeship scheme set up by Skills Development Scotland. Last year Dentsu Aegis Network partnered with Newbattle and signed up to employ a pre-apprentice. Our pre-apprentice is in his final year at school and works with us one day per week. All being well he will join us at the end of his final year in a full time role. In theory, by the time his peers are leaving university in 2023, he will have five years of experience in an industry that is evolving at pace. He will have practical experience. He will be earning an income and paying no tuition fees over the course of that time. Looking back at my own career path, that seems like a very attractive idea.

For us this is just one element of a strategy designed to rethink our recruitment process and create a workforce that better reflects society.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on how industry can better support the education sector and our future workforce.