The adventure of moving into the future in a changing and difficult world, which is also filled with opportunities.

By Martín Padulla for stafffingamericalatina

Being young nowadays is not an easy task. Those who are lucky enough to finish high school face the difficult mission of an introspective examination of their aptitudes, interests and preferences in a process that is frequently called: vocational orientation.

Before moving on with the analysis, it is important to mention that most Latin American youngsters do not graduate from school in due time and form. For example, in Argentina, only 22% of youth achieve this goal, while only 11% graduate from superior education and 20% of the working population have a university degree.

Information provided by the Argentinian National Institute of Technological Education (INET), shows that, during 2015, 3 out of 4 companies had difficulties filling vacancies due to lack of skills or candidates.

A lot of work is needed to help youngsters complete their high school education and to make sure that this level of education provides adequate skills for the labour world. The Australian model of technical-professional education seems to be an example to follow; it might be the best interpretation of a concept that has been repeated over and over again in these columns: education based on skills that are linked to the current and future demands of the productive sector.

Now, going back to those who decide to pursue superior education, and in a system quite different to the Australian model, vocational decisions become a life choice. This reflective, personal process remains open for the rest of a person’s life, but it is a key issue during teenage years. It is a decision that must be made in a vital period in which doubts are the common denominator. And for our teenagers, these doubts arise during a fourth industrial revolution characterized by uncertainty. Clearly, it is not an easy choice to make.

When analysing the context, the following data can be observed: 80% of the content learnt by youth will have to be unlearned and relearned. Life Long Learning will be a must in order to reach employability and get a job or to become an entrepreneur. 65% of today’s students will be working in jobs that have not been invented yet. The jobs that nowadays are the harder to fill and the best paid, did not use to exist 10 years ago. Over 70% of jobs currently created in our region demand technological skills. According to a research developed by Oxford University, 47% of today jobs will be under the risk of automation during the next decade. As it has been said, it is not a time of changes, we are actually living the change of an era.

Clearly, globalization and technology have transformed the world and the way we interact in it. Between 2009 and 2014, data-use in the United States grew 3,700%. It is expected to multiply by 9 from 2014 and 2019.  Young people have access to powerful communication and knowledge tools. Maybe the real task at hand is to learn how to make the most of them.

How do you chose a profession? What are the key elements to consider when selecting a university? What can superior education offer to neo-students today? Does it already have the neo-professors that shall interact with neo-students? Do these professors master the tools that students already master perfectly?

We are at a breaking point. Traditional universities and superior education institutions must rethink their models. They must make sure that their methodologies and programs are evolving together with the knowledge economy. They must be certain that they are in tune with today’s youth and that they can train the valuable professionals of the future.

One of the main challenges seems to be developing critical thinking. Apparently, traditional social sciences courses of study show no deficits in this area. However, every other area of learning has serious problems in terms of critical thinking development. Critical thinking implies breaking down paradigms. Education must constantly wonder whether it is encouraging or restricting creativity. It must broaden its borders, particularly in times such as these in which limits have moved: inside-outside, public-private, male-female, and producer-consumer are no longer what they used to be. How can we develop a physical and psychological space that promotes exploration, deep reflection, and the creation of collective intelligence? What is the relationship between education and arts? Arts are a source of inspiration for businesses and innovation. They cannot be left out if we know that creativity and innovation are the two main drivers of human development.

Last week, Marianne Thyssen, European Commissioner for Employment, claimed that it is inadmissible that in a continent such as Europe, with over 20 million unemployed people, 40% of companies cannot find workers with innovation skills. Prestigious universities in technical profiles, such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), point out that several engineering projects fail due to the lack of cultural context. To tackle this negative situation, MIT students are forced to dedicate 25% of their class hours to humanistic subjects. During an interview with the Boston Globe, Deborah K. Fitzgerald, Dean of the School of Humanistic at the MIT, explained that every challenge that technic must solve, from climate change to diseases or poverty, is closely linked to human realities.

Clearly, we are living in an era in which talent will not pursue capital, but capital will go after talent. It will go after those who are disruptive, innovative and creative.

There are non-traditional universities that have started working in the concept of memorable experiences. They are redesigning classrooms, transforming them into social and labour environment simulators fitted for the implementation of flexible systems that promote innovation through cooperation.

Singularity University, which functions in a NASA campus in Silicon Valley, is one of those initiatives. It does not offer undergrad courses nor credits, it has a multidimensional focus and contents change quickly. Singularity seeks people who are entrepreneurial technologists and passionate in solving humankind’s challenges. If the can identify these features in candidates, they find financing to develop them.

Minerva is another disruptive project; the academic offer includes Social, Computer and Natural Sciences, Arts and Humanistic, and a business school. Classes are organized in interactive seminars with no more than 19 students, guided by a teacher through a technological platform. They focus on multicultural experience and have a clear goal: developing innovative and global leaders. Students start with a first year in San Francisco, and then they live together in 6 different cities from all over the world (Berlin, Buenos Aires, Seoul, Bangalore, Istanbul and London). These are only 30 students, from 14 different countries, during a 4 years period. The world needs global citizens, say Minerva spokespeople.

In Spain, the School of Human Sciences and Technology of the IE University offers a degree 100% in English with a pedagogy approach focused on training creativity and the capacity of innovation using methods such as Design Thinking. Real experiences instead of masterclasses. Students learn programing, statistics, cybersecurity, big data, accounting or marketing, always focusing on studying and understanding human needs. In subjects such as mathematics, they edit three minutes videos explaining the conclusions of their assignments. Presenting results is a key aspect of this proposal. Students learn to communicate in a clear and direct way from the first day. IE University has deeply studied the professional profile of the founders of the 100 most successful startups of the last 20 years. In 79% of the cases, at least one of the members had technical knowledge (STEMs), but their innovations were the result of the application of science to behaviour.

The Spanish public university Rey Juan Carlos, was the first of its kind to implement an undergraduate course of study that combines sciences and liberal arts. They created the degree in “Sciences, Management and Engineering of Services”, with an academic program developed together with IBM. During the design of the program, they worked for three months at IBM’s headquarters in San Jose (California) and were advised to include throughout the program the development of personal skills, emotional intelligence, leadership and team work. IBM continues to collaborate with lectures and students visit their offices in Spain to get in touch with their way of working. Two other companies, Eulen and Meliá, joined the initiative to provide their perspective on the productive sector.

Whether they seek to become entrepreneurs or to stay competitive in the future of work, our youngsters will have to follow a path that does not resemble a race with a starting and an ending point, but something more similar to a lengthy marathon. They will have to elaborate different strategies to get the skills demanded in a changing and uncertain world.

A difficult but passionate task.

About Martin Padulla

Founder and Managing Director of staffingamericalatina. Martin Padulla is Sociologist (USAL), MBA (UCA) and labour markets expert. He published “Flexible Work in South America” and “Regulatory framework for private employment agencies in Latin America” two books about the new realities of work in Latin America.

@MartinPadulla

mpadulla@staffingamericalatina.com

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