The Future of Work and Learning

College Career Centers have long been described as bridges between the world of education and the world of work in our mission to support students’ successful transition from college. Given the rapid paradigm changes we are seeing in society related to the fourth industrial revolution, is the notion that a bridge is needed to connect these two worlds relevant or even appropriate anymore?

In the new work and learning economy, how might we put forth energy to close this work and learning gap? Since the future will involve more cohesive connections between societal, work and learning ecosystems, to this end, career services can become an important ally and partner with our learning institutions in support of our students' success.

“By 2030, workers will create new work and learning infrastructures to acquire the skills and knowledge they will need to execute their work successfully. In-the-moment learning and the ability to gain new knowledge will be valued higher than the knowledge people already have.” Emerging Technologies’ Impact on Work and Learning In 2030

For many years in career services we’ve focused on NACE’s top skills employers seek on students’ resumes. Over the last decade, these top 10 in-demand skills have largely remained static, with some minor variations. Regardless of academic major, we’ve helped students identify and translate these important skills developed through curricular and co-curricular activities to employers.

Given the growing complexity of work and society, our students’ ability to identify and communicate these in-demand skills will no longer be enough.

We will soon see the end of the single skill as king and instead there will be an emergence of new and hybrid skills that our students will need to develop in order to thrive in the workforce. According to The Institute For The Future, a renowned incubation and research firm in Palo Alto, by 2020 the jobs that will not be disrupted, the jobs that are here to stay, 30% of the core skills that are required for them will be completely different. These new skills will be in some cases a fusion of one or more single skills or an emergence of a new value system about the qualities and skills workers will need to possess. Recent research from The World Economic Forum and The Institute For The Future, points to new in-demand skills for 2020 including:

We’ve heard from career leaders across the nation that career centers can no longer operate and be viewed as placement and career counseling centers anymore.

Given how rapidly the needs of industry and society are changing, I agree that we must make this shift. Career services professionals must become a new kind of resource for our students. At SCU, considering our geographic location and organizational mission, there is an opportunity to develop powerful connections between the role of a Jesuit education in the middle of one of the world’s most tech-driven and innovative epicenters. 

• Since our mission is to develop ethical, compassionate and conscientious leaders who consider their impact on the world from a social justice perspective, how might higher education consider ways to align and scale vocation discernment and career education with the educational mission of the institution? If students gain insight into the values, gifts and talents they possess as part of their education, the more aligned their career choices will be with who they are throughout their lifetime.
• Since career services can’t prepare students for life after college alone, if our students’ post-graduation success becomes a thread that connects us all across the institution then we can create and sustain a much greater impact. How might we build strong collaborations internally and also externally through connection with industry to drive innovation in skill and experience building to empower our students in their transition from college to work?

Ideas we are exploring at SCU -

1. Consider new approaches to prepare our students for the future.  

One such example - SCU’s Career Center has been invited to explore with Google’s Daydream VR team skill development and experience building needs for college students and how virtual reality and augmented reality can be used to enhance and scale offerings for higher education.

2. Explore ways to engage broader communities with the campus and higher education ecosystem. 

As we explore initiatives to develop deeper connections between industry and learning, Santa Clara’s Career Center has been invited to participate in The Institute For The Future’s Future Skills Summit alongside industry executives, policy makers, and other education leaders to “learn how to learn together in the new work and learning economy.” The Center for the Fourth Industrial Revolution also comes to mind as an innovation hub where a spectrum of government, industry and education stakeholders are convening to look at the problems, needs and opportunities we are facing as a society and how we might tackle these, not from within a silo, but in a collective and collaborative way. This trans-discipline or trans-industry approach to problem solving and innovation feels like the beginning of a promising future to me.