EDUCATION & LIFELONG LEARNING
What it means to be skilled and human
Reinvention and lifelong learning were just a few of the takeaway themes at the World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) 2019 in Doha, Qatar. Ledetta Asfa-Wossen reports.
T
his year’s WISE event saw international leaders from a cross-section of industries gather to effectively tackle the skills gap. With the ongoing transformation in tech and labour markets pushing policymakers, educators and
employers to adopt quick fixes for reskilling the workforce, the question was how to drive the search for new tools and skills, rather than deferring to an agenda of advanced technology alone. Will the focus on workplace skills come at the expense of values?
What systemic solutions, such as the digitisation of content or improved accreditation and assessment are needed to solve the skills gap? These were all themes debated by a mixed panel of professionals and educators in a session entitled: ‘Finding the Way Ahead’.
LIFELONG LEARNING “We cannot just periodically specify a gap and then reskill for it – it’s an ongoing thing,” said Sheikha Hanadi Al-Thani, founder and CEO of AL Waab City Real Estate development project and CEO of Nasser Bin Khaled Al Thani & Sons Group. “The term ‘skills gap’ will not go away. It’s a continuous issue we have to work on. We are firefighting – there will always be a gap. The question is whether we have a dynamic system? Should education be a sole entity or multiple entities that involve various stakeholders? If I had to specify a skill gap now it would be financial literacy, but the remedy for that is an ever-evolving thing.” A vital message from the panel was the importance of lifelong learning,
particularly in the workplace. “Education today is not a place. It is a lifelong experience not a bricks and mortar institution – that model doesn’t work anymore. We talk constantly about jobs that won’t exist anymore but we still churn out talent for those same jobs. Education has to be about adaptability, critical skills and interacting. There isn’t one model that fits all.” “Qatar is fortunate in some respects because we’ve started amending
the education system. However, the rest of the region could be in a problem. We’re getting to the stage that if we have 100 million youths
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18 | RELOCATE | WINTER 2019 / 2020
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