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Presentation Design Inspired by Mark Lukens article "How Education Is Failing To Serve Business Needs"
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The Gap between
Education and Business Needs
Presenta(on Design By: Ramon Monteiro
www.Iwillvisualize.com
By Mark Lukens Source Ar(cle:
How Educa*on is Failing To Serve Business Needs
www.marklukens.com
@marklukens
Education is one of the triumphs of modern civilization.
According to census data, over 40% of the U.S. population has an associate degree or higher.
With higher education attendance continuing to rise, it’s only a matter of time before half the population
has degrees.
But is all of this education really serving our needs, either as a society or as a
business community?
Approximately one in four employers (24%) at a global level report that general lack of experiences
at the root of the talent shortages they face,
while nearly one in five employers (19%) say candidates lack the required employability
skills or “soft skills”
Interpersonal skills (5%), Professionalism (e.g. appearance, punctuality) (4%), Flexibility and adaptability (4%).
Skills deficiencies, including:
This is not an issue confined within the borders of the U.S.; it can be seen across multiple developed
countries and regions.
As an example, while every pronouncement of the UK government’s controversial educational
secretary Michael Gove is at least he is triggering debate about education
“I regard education as the means in which individuals can gain access to all the goods other goods that we value, cultural, social and economical, on their terms.” - Michael Gove
as in the U.S., no one is asking…
as in the U.S., no one is asking
? what the education system is for
When we set up a process within a business we ask…
When we set up a process within a business we ask
what is it meant to do?
What is it meant to do?
? ? ?
We set it up to achieve those ends...
What is it meant to do?
? ? ?
We set it up to achieve those ends and refine it to ensure that they are met.
To do otherwise is to set ourselves up to…
To do otherwise is to set ourselves up to
This should also apply in education.
If the education system is to serve the needs of business…
What are those needs?
?
needs
Creative
thinkers
Apply their skills to a variety of situations.
Creative
thinkers
Constant Change is the nature of todays market, as shifts in society and technology create a need for
constant adaption
Creative
thinkers
Creative
thinkers
Creative
thinkers
The ability to think creatively, to adapt and apply, to act with initiative is as vital to business
success as it is to human fulfillment and creating happy employees.
Interpersonal skills
Creative
thinkers
The ability to empathize with others, to understand their point of view and effectively
communicate with them has two big advantages.
Creative
thinkers
Interpersonal skills
Creative
thinkers
Interpersonal skills
First, it allows employees to work productively together, creating a successful working environment.
Second, it allows employees to understand and communicate with their customers, to hear
their needs and to meet them.
Creative
thinkers
Interpersonal skills
information Skills
Creative
thinkers
Interpersonal skills
Employees need the ability to work with the information they are given, whatever that information
is. To use it to understand and shape their work.
Creative
thinkers
Interpersonal skills
Information skills
Creative
thinkers
Interpersonal skills
Information skills
Is the current education system providing these skills?
?
NO!
Creative
thinkers
Interpersonal skills
Information skills
Another brick in the wall!
Creative
thinkers
Interpersonal skills
Information skills
Sadly, this is not what our education system is built around.
Our system rewards rote learning and rote thinking…
…not using the ideas and solutions of others rather than creating your own.
If every assignment is marked on citing past sources, where is the reward for
coming up with your own ideas?
Creative
thinkers
Interpersonal skills
Information skills
We don’t set out to teach interpersonal skills and communication at all…
Instead acting as if people will learn them by osmosis.
Employers identified a number of soft skills deficiencies, including enthusiasm/motivation (5%), interpersonal skills (4%)
These are difficult, complex areas, and the proliferaAon of counselors and speaking coaches shows how much value we can gain from training.
Creative thinkers
Interpersonal skills
Information skills
As for information, we may talk about teaching how to process it, but we exam on the ability to recall facts,
We aren’t teaching how to process information
We are teaching a small part of that information, a part which in the Internet age is
already available at the push of a button.
It’s not the recall of facts that matters, it’s the ability to find and sift them.
Creative thinkers
Interpersonal skills
Information skills
Creative thinkers
Interpersonal skills
Information skills
Creative thinkers
Interpersonal skills
Information skills
“If you want a job, then you have to have certain
personal aFributes, skills, and abiliAes that employers and customers will value and want.
Ge9ng an academic sheepskin isn’t enough.” -‐Mark Hendrickson
There are many implicaAons and assumpAons behind our current
educaAon system.
Some of them are old fashioned, some have emerged over time…
but unless they are directly addressed they will continue to shape our education system
in unhelpful ways.
If we want education to meet the needs of business…
then we need to state, clearly and explicitly:
what those needs are
and build a system designed to meet them.
and build a system designed to meet them.
References:
Mark Hendrickson MythbusAng 101: Uncomfortable Traths Your College Won’t Tell You (forbes.com)
Mark Lukens How EducaAon is Failing To Serve Business Needs.
2012 Talent Shortage Survey Results
Iwillvisualize.com @iwillvisualize
www.marklukens.com @marklukens
