VIEWS & OPINION
Upskilling non-traditional learners is essential to meet the talent needs of business
Comment by Dr GILLIAN MURRAY, deputy principal of business and enterprise at Heriot-Watt University
In today’s economy, where the skills needed to succeed are rapidly evolving, education is becoming more important than ever. As part of this, one of the most significant shifts in higher education is the massive growth of the adult student population, the ‘non- traditional’ student. It is predicted that
the number of non- traditional students will overtake traditional students by 2030 with huge enrolment growth driven by students in developing countries, first generation learners, college students, with the majority being working adult learners wanting to upskill, reskill or rapidly progress in their careers. The devastating impact of the pandemic has accelerated the
acceptance and understanding about the benefits of digital learning but has also highlighted the urgent need for businesses to build a suitable pipeline of talent who are trained for the future jobs market. Industry is struggling to hire talent in high-growth areas, including
tech, sales, health and management, with reports suggesting a $8.5tn talent shortage by 2030. According to the World Economic Forum, the global workforce is predicated to grow by 230 million people by 2030, and is expected to happen at a time when up to half of today’s jobs, around 2 billion, are changing due to new technology, decarbonisation and growth industries. That is why education provision within the next 10 years and
beyond, will be critical for ensuring our world and economy flourish. The full implications of technological disrupters fuelled by global connectivity and data, will become more evident as most nations strive to achieve net zero economies. We cannot continue doing more of the same if we want to address
ecological and technological disruptions and reach 2050 with a world where people live well toget her and with the planet, particularly as the demand for education will soar within this timeframe. The global online degree market was valued at $36 billion in 2019
and is expected to grow to $74 billion by 2025, according to the education market intelligence firm HolonIQ 18, as the pace for new knowledge and the demands of the global workforce continue to accelerate. It is essential therefore that universities facilitate this shift in
education, continuing to cater for students who are leaving school but ensuring that adults of all ages can receive a world-class education at any age, anywhere in the world.
24
www.education-today.co.uk Heriot-Watt University has spent the past two years undertaking a
detailed analysis of the current marketplace and researching the needs of business, identifying where the gaps are. The demographic of learners is changing. Our largest student group by age is now late 30s and early 40s with a higher percentage of women taking part as barriers are broken down to accessing higher education. Our research with students, industry bodies, partners within
corporate businesses and academics within the university, helped us to design a new learning approach, an online education initiative, Heriot-Watt Online. We are shaping our education for learner personas and investing heavily in creating online content and learning resources to open up higher education to thousands of non- traditional learners around the world. This will provide accessibility to adult students looking to study through flexible learning. Many people simply can’t take time out to study due to financial or
personal circumstances. Our tailored online courses will enable adult students to remain in full-time employment throughout, gain credit for their work-based projects and accelerate the skills that are relevant, informed by the needs of their employers. Heriot-Watt Online currently includes Masters in subjects like Digital
Transformation, Data Analytics, Supply Chain logistics with new programmes set to launch soon in Sustainability and Energy Transition alongside undergraduate degrees and apprenticeships. We are working with businesses to co-create and co-deliver solutions to current and future talent needs. With applied and work-based learning at its core, the new approach will enable Heriot-Watt to support organisations with a range of impactful workforce development needs. Heriot-Watt has a long history in delivering online education,
having been a market-leader in the delivery of online MBA courses across 160 countries for the past 20 years. Applying these learnings, Heriot-Watt Online will launch an additional 20 Masters courses over the next few years which are targeted towards emerging industries. The new curriculum is aligned to the major technology disrupters and future innovations likely to shape the world of work through alignment with our world leading academics in fields such as AI, robotics, low carbon solutions, and sustainability. Industry bodies are calling out for these types of courses. Education
of the future will require stronger collaboration with industry and government to shape the sectors and the skills of the future and deliver accessible and flexible work-based education at scale. With the global adult education market set to grow dramatically,
education needs to break down the borders and barriers many people face when trying to reach their career goals with a flexible approach. At Heriot-Watt, our mission is to power the economy and transform lives by providing world-class relevant and flexible learning that will also ignite the desire for continuous learning. Education needs to help shape the future, thinking ahead of
‘current needs’, setting a future path driven by innovation that will define the skills, lifelong learning and entrepreneurial mindsets needed from the global workforce to grow future economies. This futuristic mindset is critical to future skills particularly when the world is moving so fast.
December 2021
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48
