... About World Of Work In 2050
Schools are in the Future Business - How can schools prepare young people for the world of work of the Mid-C21? Some thoughts from Mark Steed, Principal of Kellett School, The British International School in Hong Kong.
To adapt and misquote the immortal first line of L. P. Hartley’s The Go-between, ‘The Future is a foreign country, they’ll do things differently there.’
There is little doubt that thirty years from now will see a very different workplace to the one that we witness today. A glance back thirty years gives some perspective: in 1990 daily routines did not include mobile phones, WIFI, the internet, or social media. Yet we all know that the ever-increasing rate of innovation will mean that by 2050 we will have seen even more change.
Working patterns in the mid-C21 are going to be radically different. By then, most jobs that can be automated, will have been automated – and that won’t just be in manufacturing. The professions will have been transformed beyond recognition. Sure - there will still be lawyers, bankers, accountants, architects, and so on, but there will be fewer of them and the way in which they work will be radically different - the heavy lifting on mundane tasks being done by AI systems. As Richard and Daniel Susskind put it in their excellent book The Future of the Professions,
‘The best and brightest professionals will endure the longest – those who perform tasks that we prefer to leave in the hands of human beings. But there will not be a sufficiency of these tasks to keep armies of professionals in gainful employment.’ p.290
In response, the optimists argue that, as with previous iterations, that the ‘Fourth Industrial Revolution’ will throw up a whole range of new job roles that don’t currently exist. This is quite possible, but, as Yuval Harari argues in Homo Deus,
'The crucial problem isn't creating new jobs. The crucial problem is creating new jobs that humans perform better than algorithms.’ (p.331)
Furthermore the whole way in which firms recruit is changing – increasingly qualifications are no longer a proxy for employability as employers use more sophisticated tools to select suitable candidates. Firms from ‘the Big Four’ to Starbucks are increasingly ignoring GCSE, A-level and degree results, and, instead, using aptitude tests and psychological profiling in order to sift through and select candidates. This trend is only set to increase.
These changes to the world of work and to recruitment have important ramifications for education.
Schools are in the Future Business
2050 seems half a lifetime away. For many of us it is beyond the likely span of our professional lives and careers. But, seen from an educational perspective, it is just around the corner. A child starting school this September will go to university in 2038 and enter the workforce in 2041 or 2042.
When it comes to education, it matters little whether the ‘Brave New World’ of 2050 takes a utopian or dystopian shade. Both scenarios present a significant challenge to schools as to how they prepare young people for what is likely to be a future that is far harder to predict than in previous ages.
What should be the role of schools in the C21?
CBI annual reports have been drawing attention to the growing disconnection between what is assessed in schools and universities and the requirements of the work-place for well over a decade.
This disconnection is often justified by educationalists on the grounds that schools and universities must not become merely the servant of business and industry, but they also should perform a number of other important functions, including preparing young people to be good citizens and to have the personal skills and resources to live happy and fulfilled lives.
This is a valid argument, but it should not be used to excuse schools from the significant responsibility to equip young people with the skills required to be able to enter the work-force. After all, providing the means for an individual to achieve a minimum level of financial stability is a significant factor in delivering the other desirable benefits of education.
A curriculum for the mid-C21
Schools have responsibility to equip young people with the technical skills, human &. personal skills and inner resources and to be able to thrive in what is likely to be a hugely competitive employment market.
Technical Skills: there is little doubt that digital technologies are going to play a significant role in the world of the mid-C21 and it is important that young people don’t leave school without have a developed understanding of how these work.
Human &. Personal Skills: a significant proportion of the jobs that are going to be still available are going to be those which require the most human of qualities: creativity and empathy. Alongside fostering these, schools need to develop personal skills to be able to communicate and present oneself and one’s ideas effectively in a whole range of contexts and media.
Inner Resources: Perhaps most important of these is the ability to adapt to a world of constant change. This requires developing a flexible mindset and resilience to cope with the inevitable challenges that arise in life; and having the knowledge, understanding and skills to be able to protect one’s own wellbeing at those times. At Kellett we place a significant emphasis on our Positive Education programme which fosters these important qualities.
In addition to these, I would add one more area which is hugely overlooked by most school curricula around the world:
Real World Understanding: It is remarkable that it is possible to go through an outstanding education and yet not have any understanding of how compound interests works, or how to read a balance sheet.
At Kellett, we believe that our Positive Education and Sixth Form Mini-MBA programmes which sit alongside our academic programmes will go some way to providing the young people for the world of the mid-C21.
We would welcome working with firms in Hong Kong who are able to provide our students with opportunities for “real world” experiences of the workplace.
This article was published in Britain in Hong Kong The Official Magazine of the British Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong Issue 66 May-June 2020 pp.34-5
