We Need to Teach New Skills in a New Way

Technology is designed to be intuitive. We see toddlers able to use a tablet PC before they can walk, the pages of manuals we used to get with our smartphone are now redundant and people learn from YouTube how to tile, code, use Excel or even assemble the dreaded flat-packed furniture.

In 2018 a Pew research study found that 51% of YouTube users accessed the platform to learn.  In 2022, this increased to 86%. This growing, on-demand, bite-sized, content led approach to education and training is unprecedented and employers need to see it as a trend to follow.

That’s the fundamental difference, the way we absorb skills is now far more on-demand, when we need to know the skill, and the fastest possible way to absorb that information.  The way we learn has evolved, yet the way we teach hasn’t fundamentally changed in decades – antiquated classrooms, 12 months or more of structured training, a 3-4 year degree programme, limited ‘on-the-job’ teaching and a mismatch of the topics being taught with the skills needed by employers.  

Worryingly, 80% of employers believe that current graduates are lacking in the skills they need to be work ready and 68% of students report that they are unclear as to what skills they need to learn to start their careers.

That’s the fundamental difference, the way we absorb skills is now far more on-demand, when we need to know the skill, and the fastest possible way to absorb that information. 

A distinct lack of engagement between further education and employers means that what we’re currently teaching our graduates is becoming less and less relevant to employers. And to think that on average, graduates come out of University with £45,800 of debt.