The major challenge for educational systems across the World is not only about developing skills within young people (although that is a critical issue in many countries).
In fact, the real issue is about addressing the need for reskilling amongst the existing workforce with the OECD reporting that over 25 per cent of adults have reported a mismatch between their current skillset and qualifications needed for their jobs.
More critically, 35 per cent of the skills that are needed across industries will change over the next two years.
That is why a recent report from the World Economic Forum (WEF) should be compulsory reading for politicians and policymakers who are trying to address some of the key competitiveness and productivity questions within their economies.
“Accelerating Workforce Reskilling for the Fourth Industrial Revolution” examines some of the key challenges for greater lifelong learning for the existing workforce and comes up with a series of key recommendations which are not only sensible but long overdue.
Not surprisingly, the first suggestion for change is to recognize and take stock of existing skills in the workplace which seems to absent in many countries.
Whilst people will accumulate knowledge, skills and competencies over their careers, there seems to be a lack of intelligence in tracking these and, more relevantly, how they change over time.
Rather than having employers themselves doing this, it is suggested that professional associations and trade unions are in the perfect position to support individuals given that there may be a general reluctance to admit to a lack of skills in key areas.
But it is not only the measurement and support of existing skills which are important as there needs to be greater anticipation by the education system of the needs of the labour market, especially as technology is changing so quickly.
In this respect, having key stakeholders in business, government and education working closely together to develop the right tools for measurement and assessment is critical so that the demand from organisations is actually met efficiently and effectively by the different educational suppliers in the public and private sectors.
Of course, the real challenge is not only identifying the need but providing the right type of support to enable and encourage organisations to take this issue seriously.
As we all know, governments will prioritise formal education first, especially in schools, and usually only a low proportion of any education budget is allocated to adult education programmes.
In particular, there is a lack of recognition, support and promotion of post educational approaches to learning in the workplace especially on-the-job training opportunities through informal learning opportunities. These needs to be prioritized over time especially given that a significant share of adult learning is acquired through practical experience, in-house training and interaction with colleagues. This could lead to the establishment of an efficient training system that will enable employers to maximise the performance of their employees through the most relevant and appropriate learning methods.
But most importantly of all, the WEF suggest that as the biggest employers in all economies, it should be small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs) that should be prioritized for adult learning.
Yet it would seem that the constraints faced by SMEs in getting access to training – such as their small size and lack of resources – are not taken into account when developing training systems for adult learners. Indeed, workers within SMEs participate in only half of the training activities as compared to those working for larger firms.
Therefore, whilst it is important that we make sure new entrants to the workforce are trained in the skills of the future, we must not forget the 31 million people already employed in the UK many of whom will need to, over the next five years, change their skillset to meet the challenges of the next industrial revolution.