The recent celebration of the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona put our nation at the epicentre of the map of global technological innovation. Coinciding with the end of this event, Education Week, which took place at Ifema, had a very clear objective this year, present in the slogan itself: “Building the education of the future.” An event of great relevance, which however did not obtain the same media attention as the international event in Barcelona. And yet, the need to begin to conceive another type of education is pressing, given that it is increasingly obvious that our young people are not being prepared for the professions of the future.
As a technology transfer specialist, I have the privilege of being able to deal with some of the most innovative companies in the world, companies that mark the roadmap for the advancement of society, including prototypes of products and services that, in the not-too-distant future, will form the basis of most professions.
However, it is not necessary to take a glimpse of the future to realise that something is wrong, since the gap between the education that is currently provided and the needs that modern companies require is evident by looking at the latest youth unemployment figures. Thus, unemployment among young people in our nation exceeds 42% compared to 12.4% in the United Kingdom, 9.2% in Australia or 8.4% in Norway. And if this situation seems bad, it could even get worse: according to a study by the University of Oxford (“The future of employment”), more than half of the population in the West could lose their jobs in the future due to the massive implementation of robotics and Artificial Intelligence.
When looking for the causes of this very high rate of youth unemployment, of course we must assess various and complex variables, but we cannot take the current educational system out of the equation, which focuses on standardized learning and adheres to an outdated model in regards to the market, instead of a system based on experience and personal curiosity that seeks to enhance the creative, innovative and unpredictable part of the mind. The jobs, companies and knowledge required of the worker are changing; therefore, education must change at the same speed.
In my opinion, the ideal education for the future should be flexible, building dynamic curricula that enhance the skills considered transversal aptitudes. We must insist on the need to develop social and emotional skills, creativity and curiosity, entrepreneurship education and learning through direct experience. Instead of exposing the student to an endless stream of data that he has to repeat later in a closed and standardised test, he must be asked to find a creative solution to a problem using the theoretical basis provided, under the tutorship of the teacher.
These unique capabilities of human beings (empathy, emotional intelligence, the ability to work as a team, lateral thinking) are known as soft skills, and a long time will have to pass before any robot can imitate them.
Some countries such as Singapore, South Korea, Austria or Taiwan already have educational models that emphasize these skills, using the method that has been called STEM, an acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. These are the subjects that have been officially considered priorities by their respective governments for the education of their young people, with a view to their immediate incorporation into the working world. It is no coincidence that these countries have a youth unemployment rate notably lower than the EU and US average.
Does this mean that we should leave aside careers in literature or those related to art? Not at all. Letters and the arts help develop the most creative part of the human being, the one that can hardly be imitated by artificial intelligence. The British, long before STEM curricula were fashionable in Asia, had already realised this, and this was reflected in their latest Educational Reform Law, which dates back to 1988, and established content that mixed in a very skilful way, technical subjects with others aimed at developing creativity. These contents are updated periodically to adapt them to the evolution of technology and markets, but its structure remains essentially the same as in ’88, which is a good example of the effectiveness of this Law and the will to agreement of their politicians.
And I speak of this as a first-hand witness: as a school student in Great Britain, I remember the importance given to mathematics and science (compulsory subjects common to all grades), but also to subjects such as theatre, art, or music. All of this, seasoned with transversal subjects focused on developing soft skills and preparation for adult life.
It is necessary to assess the situation of the current educational system, proposing more efficient and appropriate models or systems not only to the needs that arise today, but to those that are to come. Therefore, the construction of a coherent model for the future, which enhances the knowledge necessary for new jobs, together with the skills and transversal aptitudes unique to human beings, must be a priority for society and the system.
By: Manuel Fuertes, President of the Kiatt Group
