? ???? Are university degree’s still as valuable as they used to be? ???? ?

Last week I was watching the online LinkedIn Talent Connect show and one of the big topics of conversation was skills-based approaches to recruitment. In a nutshell it comes down to a business identifying the skills needed within its workforce, and then focussing their learning and development programs, talent acquisition and retention efforts around those skills.

How does this differ from the ‘norm’ that most use now? You would think that the skills needed to do a job or the skills required in a business would be at the forefront of their efforts. In some ways they are; however, there is still a lot of focus on formal qualifications. They keep the skills required in mind but focus more on the background, educational attainments etc.

There is a suggestion within the skills first approach that those ‘norm’ criteria will quickly become obsolete or less valuable. They are moving away from – must have a degree, must have attended a XX school, must have 5 years of experience etc. Instead, they are saying, we want someone with a certain skill set such as a software program or even a soft skill; with an amount of experience or capability.

So why is ‘skills first’ becoming so popular? Well for a start we live in a changing world. Technology, politics, climate, ways of working, etc, all are changing and evolving over time; some more than others. You only have to think of how quickly AI has developed, and the many applications and process’ that it will change. So much so, there will probably be a new skill of ‘prompting’ that will become a valuable resource for companies looking for people who can utilise AI software.

The other side of the ‘skills first’ conversation is the lack of skills in certain sectors. So instead of being able to use the ‘normal’ recruitment method, they have had to widen their criteria and focus on the key skills they need. This means they can sometimes attract talent they would not have ordinarily considered or even been aware of, that possess that much needed skill.

There is also a point made that in some sectors, a long form education is somewhat pointless; because technology and other industry changes effectively render most of it out of date within a couple of years.

To me, it makes a lot of sense to focus more on skills than anything else, however, I think there are some sectors which still lend themselves to the status quo. Engineering has to be one of them. When you are studying for a degree in engineering you are learning about core principles, maths and science that will not change. And you need that base level knowledge in order to carry out your role.

??So, if this trend of ‘skills first’ continues, what does it mean for the world of education? And does a degree become less valuable or even redundant in certain sectors or roles???

Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.

#skillsfirst #engineering #newwaysofdoingthings