"And who will pay?" and other problems of continuous learning system
In July 2019, Amazon announced the allocation of $ 700 million for six years to retraining a third of their labor in the United States.
The American company has become one of those who accepted the inevitable: the skills of employees will soon not have market value, since their old duties will be transferred to the machines, while new professions have already begun to actively form.
According to Times Higher Education (TNNE), this fact is also “slap in the face” to modern universities, often criticized for insufficiently dynamic response to changes.
They are so rapid that by the time the student is completing his training, some of the knowledge he gained can already become no one needs.
The same educational institutions that take steps towards introducing the opportunity to study continuously are still few.
Education economy “Help yourself first” – Anna Harnas about the benefits of continuous training However, with all this, now there is no clear understanding of what specifically these steps should be.
According to many experts, simple retraining or advanced training is no longer enough-it is necessary to teach adaptability, creative approach and the ability to study something new all your life.
But how to do this is most effective? The second question: how to stimulate the desire to constantly learn from adults, often forced to look for at least some balance between work, raising children and the help of older relatives? Education economy Five ways to find time for self -development without being distracted from work In addition, the introduction of a new continuous system will be a very costly process for both the authorities and for the students themselves, many of which still pay huge debts for training, completed many years ago.
Moreover, one of the main goals of the educational systems of the world is its accessibility to a wide circle of population.
As a result, as the agreed actions in this area writes are unlikely, it does not become clear who and how will finance this whole process.
For the adequate implementation of the continuous training system, the following steps can be taken: Changing courses and programs towards flexibility and ability to respond quickly to changes.
It is important at the same time to stimulate a wider partnership with other educational institutions and departments.
Attracting the participation of employers.
As in the aforementioned case with Amazon, many programs can be changed taking into account the wishes of potential employers and the request of the students themselves.
At the same time, you can attract representatives of companies in teaching, during which they will share practical experience with students.
However, the expectations of employers and students do not always intersect: some professional areas are quite complicated, because of which they have to convince people that they really should “pour into them”.
In addition, one cannot discount those who are educated not for further career, but for self -development, hobbies, communication, and so on.
The development of online courses that give people the opportunity to learn anywhere and at any time as they want.
However, training only online is probably also not the best solution: the future is more likely to combine online and offline terms.
At the same time, not all people believe that universities will be able to help them in training throughout life.
So, the Gallup survey and the North-Eastern University in Massachusetts showed that most respondents will not consider higher education as an assistant in updating their skills.
About 95% of adults surveyed in the USA, Canada and Great Britain noted the value of constant training, but the programs proposed by employers are considered the most suitable option.
Innovation economy What tasks of corporate training are solved by the latest VR devices And yet, although the initiatives of companies such as Amazon are a good example of how to respond to current changes in the field of education and employment, the participation of universities in learning throughout life is no less important and can help ensure its quality.