Why We Should Listen To Tim Cook About College

In early March of this year Apple CEO, Tim Cook, met with President Donald Trump for the American Workforce Policy Advisory Board Meeting. During the meeting Tim Cook told Donald Trump something about college that, I’m sure, shocked many people. "And so to that end, as we've looked at the — sort of, the mismatch between the skills that are coming out of colleges and what the skills are that we believe we need in the future, and many other businesses do, we've identified coding as a very key one," In short, Tim Cook pointed out that colleges are not teaching in-demand skills required for success in the workplace.

Ok so take a deep breath. I know. This isn’t always easy to hear. Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple, really did say (I’m reading between the lines here) that college doesn’t always map to success in the professional world. We should all listen to Tim Cook on this issue. Here’s why:

Because he works for Apple

Tim Cook’s position means something here. This isn’t your cousin who believes in alien invasions here. This is the CEO of Apple, one of the most forward-thinking, profitable and successful companies in the US and, arguably, the world. Yes, I am saying what you think I am saying: listen to Tim Cook because he is successful! More than that, Cook seems to agree with other successful heads of large, innovative companies like Elon Musk, Mark Cuban and Mark Zuckerberg.

Because college doesn’t always map to success

The most important part of Tim Cook’s quote on college is “mismatch.” He claims that there is a mismatch between the skills taught in college and the skills needed for success after college. Here, the proof is in the pudding. I remember the first time I had to write creatively after leaving college. I began contributing as a writer for a blog with over one million followers called We Are Teachers. The beginning of my journey with We Are Teachers began with me having to find my voice as a writer. I was so accustomed to academia, that I had lost my voice as a writer. My example is with writing but let me ask you a question. Are you using skills you learned in college in your current position? If you had to attend an employee orientation to training before you started your job (as most jobs do), you probably aren’t using many skills from your degree plan.

Because he is predicting the future

The college/university system will eventually suffer. The recent trend in online learning, I believe, will change the way people interact with college. Platforms like Udemy, Coursera, Blademy, Edx, LinkedIn Learning and Learn @ Forbes offer users the opportunity to engage in rapid skill acquisition. Users can learn whatever skills their employers need for them to learn in order to be successful and can do it from their laptop or phone. Soon, these platforms combined with a general mistrust of college skill sets will cause a shift in the ways in which people prepare for work. The “college experience” will no longer be enough to attract students once they can get meaningful work right out of high school.

Bottom Line

There are professions that will always demand a college degree like the field of medicine. For many other professions, I believe college degrees will become a thing of the past. In a world in which you can job train from your phone, make money creating youtube videos and build apps with teams of people who have never been in the same room, college just feels like it is moving slower than the rest of the world.

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I taught in a traditional school setting for 5 years before entering my current role where I design curriculum, plan projects and motivate students to break all of the rules. I'm interested in change and finding the next set of large innovations to the classroom through the use of adaptive learning technology and AI. The world is rapidly innovating and it is my belief that schools must follow that trend. Connect with me on LinkedIn and follow me on Twitter to keep having great conversations.