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utomation, digitisation and globalisation are changing the face of the future workplace.


How we prepare today’s young people for jobs that have yet to be designed is one of the big questions educators around the world think about every day. “Looking outside the classroom,


educators have begun to ask, ‘what will tomorrow’s work environment look like?’,” says Relocate Global’s Managing Editor, Fiona Murchie, introducing this brand-new webinar, which is part of Spring 2022’s International Education & Schools’ Fair. “What skillsets will be the most important for students to acquire? These are interesting questions indeed. Fortunately, we have a great panel today to move this conversation forward.” Joining Fiona Murchie in


“The Future of Work: Impact on Education” are the American School of Milan’s Jane Segre, Director of Teaching and Learning, Peter Damroth, Upper Primary School Educator, Chris Briner, Science Department Coordinator and Cynthia Davis Hall, Director of Admissions and Advancement.


PREPARING STUDENTS FOR UNCERTAINTY The last two years have seen unprecedented


disruption and


uncertainty on a global scale. How schools, families, employers and young people adapted and showed enormous resilience is one of the more remarkable aspects of the pandemic. In a month marking the


anniversary of the first lockdown across Europe and the inevitable reflection that brings, thoughts are turning to how the pandemic has been a valuable opportunity to look more closely at how education is delivered to students. It is a critical question, particularly


as employers and employees are asking searching questions about how we work today and in future. “I think now more than ever before we are all aware of the uncertainty of the future of work for our graduates of the future,” says Jane Segre. “Many of the jobs that are going to be around when our first graders graduate do not exist yet. There is that sense of uncertainty about what exactly our students will be doing in the world of work.


“Then of course there is going


to be increased leisure time as well. That raises the question of how are we going to prepare the children of today for a happy life of tomorrow? There are an awful lot of question marks hanging over the world of work right now.” Fortunately, educators like the


faculty at the American School of Milan are working together and with colleagues in the wider international education community to work out how best to equip students for uncertainty. “I think as schools we have a


responsibility to look at what the future of work will look like and what it takes to be successful in that world,” says Chris Briner. “There will be changes. Students will need to adapt their skillsets. That’s where a lot of these ideas about being lifelong learners and the focus on soft skills and adaptability, rather than just pure content, will come to the fore.”


LEARNING LIFE SKILLS BEYOND THE CURRICULUM The rapid shift to remote teaching and learning during successive lockdowns put the purpose of education into sharp relief, as well as the adaptability of individuals and institutions. It showed the capacity of schools, families and students to adapt to online learning communities, and revealed how remote syllabus content delivery can be a success. It also highlighted what makes


on-campus education surrounded by peers special. “If you think that the purpose of education is to parcel up pieces of knowledge to get them inside students’ heads, for the most part online learning platforms can be quite successful,” says Jane Segre. “We know because when our students took their standardised tests in the September of the year following that semester online and they did very well. But what we did notice was the social isolation of our students, the lack of motivation and loneliness. They were so grateful to be back at school in the September of 2020.” Since the pandemic, children


reporting mental wellbeing issues has skyrocketed. It also raises real and important questions for the future of hybrid working practices and human interaction in working life. Providing


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THINK GLOBAL PEOPLE INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION


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