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Wednesday, May 31, 2017

Future Higher Ed to Mix in Worker Training

Earning a degree in a major field of study may not be sufficient to qualify new graduates for good jobs in the future. Most likely, according to the results of a new survey, students will need to take a blend of educational programs to prepare them for employment as well as lifelong learning.

The survey, conducted by the Pew Research Center and Elon University, asked 1,400 experts in higher education, research, government, and technology fields about the type of education that will be developed to properly train a massive workforce in the next decade.

More than 70% agreed new forms of education would probably emerge to teach the required skills. That wouldn’t spell the end of traditional higher education, but students would supplement their regular courses with more hands-on training and online content aimed at honing specific skill sets.

“Plenty of respondents foresee potential for alternate credentialing systems,” noted a summary of the survey in Campus Technology.

The survey also identified a number of impediments to shifting to such a scenario, including lack of funding, reluctance of leaders to institute change, pushback from current workers who need retraining or updated skills, and ongoing difficulties in teaching competence in soft skills.