Education is still relentlessly focused on preparing young people to pass exams, but this approach ignores the skills that employers are now looking for, the skills that allow young people to effectively navigate rapid, constant change, the skills that encourage imagination, creativity, and innovation, and the skills that will develop an individual’s wellbeing and success.
Nadine El-Bawab CNBC
Back in 2015 Dr Dr Anthony Seldon spoke out about his belief that state schools have much to learn from the private sector, which is far better at preparing students not just with good grades, but with “a grounding in soft skills.”
He recognised that:
State schools are “the victim of forces that compel them to focus on a narrow range of exam teaching”
We’ve worked in the area of soft skills development for almost 20 years and from the time when they were seen by businesses as nice-to-have, fluffy add-ons – and were consequently never addressed. Things have changed! But while awareness has grown, the problems produced by a lack of soft skills are becoming ever more apparent and pressing. Yet is enough being done at a government policy level?
Not in our opinion, graduates are setting off into the world of work without the necessary skills.
And they may not even be aware of this – not until they try to find a job!
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