How do we prepare children for careers that don’t exist today?
What will your child be when he or she grows up? Perhaps a self-driving automo- tive mechanic or a human-technology inte- gration specialist? Tese are just two titles that don’t actually exist yet (or are only in their infancies) but will certainly become a mainstay in the next ten years. Just a decade ago, roles such as ‘social
media manager’ and ‘mobile app developer’ would have seemed like imaginary job titles. Te World Economic Forum estimates
that six in 10 children today will end up in careers that simply don’t exist yet. So how can we help children get ready for a future job market we simply can’t predict? Education must give young people the nec- essary skills to adapt and, of course, the core skills – literacy, numeracy and scien- tific knowledge – will always be vitally im- portant, it’s bedrock to any learning journey.
However, recent research from the
World Economic Forum asked executives from the world’s leading companies what they thought would be the most impor- tant job skills in 2020, and the number one response? Complex problem solving. Shortly followed by critical thinking, cre- ativity, collaboration and emotional intel- ligence. For many, these are also the hallmarks of an entrepreneurial outlook. To my mind, there is only one educa-
tion programme that ticks all these boxes – the International Baccalaureate (IB). ACS International Schools’ research
among university admission officers has proved over many years that the IB Diploma is excellent preparation for uni- versity life and the most highly regarded academic qualification for 16 to 18 year olds. Our latest survey conducted among heads of enterprise at UK universities
shows that the IB is also a qualification that develops an entrepreneurial mindset – ultimately, a versatile mind frame with flexible skills that will stand our children in good stead for the future world of work whatever field or career they pursue.
IB: a qualification for the 21st century
More than 70% of surveyed heads of en- terprise felt that school pressure to pass exams was having a negative impact on de- veloping entrepreneurial competencies among students. Similarly, 63% felt the narrowing of subject choices also had detri- mental effects. Unlike A-levels, where students often
opt to take just three subjects, the IB Diploma involves studying six, three at Standard Level and three at Higher Level, selected from six areas including: language
“The World Economic Forum estimates that six in ten children today will end up in careers that simply don’t exist yet.”
www.focus-info.org FOCUS The Magazine 19
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