Education Disrupted: Ryan Craig’s A New U and Higher Education in Canada
Education serves a number of functions in society, from equipping learners with skills for future careers to preparing them to think critically and challenge the status quo. When it comes to preparing learners for careers, the speed at which change is occurring in labour markets around the globe has posed significant challenges to educators and, in many cases, higher education has struggled to keep pace.
As our relationship with technology and the labour market evolves, higher education leaders need to consider how to best position their institutions to keep pace. Canada’s economic reality still orbits closely around resources, though our resource economy has evolved – it’s now one that encompasses precision-agriculture, enabled by unmanned aerial vehicles, sensors, nanotechnology and the Internet-of-things. Forestry now includes the use of LIDAR and biotechnology. Drones, automation and robotics have invaded cattle farms. Beyond resources, animal husbandry has taken on new meaning as we raise the next unicorn, narwhal or zebra. We’re nurturing the growth of Kiks, Shopifies, and Hootsuites as much as heifers, hops and canola.
In this new economic reality, higher education institutions have their work cut out for them. In his latest book, A New U, Ryan Craig shares his thoughts on how education must change in the face of disruption. Craig discusses new models of education he predicts will succeed in a transitioning economy – what he calls “faster + cheaper” models – like boot camps, minimum viable products and digital apprenticeships.
For Craig, these faster + cheaper models are positioned to deliver in an environment of disruption because they are aligned with labour market needs. They produce talent for the new economy by maintaining deep connections to employers, providing opportunities to develop both technical and soft skills, and by making competencies – rather than credentials – central to outcomes. While unlikely to displace our traditional higher education systems, these models have potential to deliver next-generation, future-focused talent.
Educators and employers: partners in delivery
Craig highlights a serious disconnect in the labour market – the skills new graduates have developed are not necessarily those employers are seeking. This disconnect pushes dissatisfied employers to inflate job requirements in hopes of finding better candidates. This inflation makes entry-level employment more difficult to access, leading to the question, “how do we better align higher education outcomes to employer needs?”
One way is to more deeply involve employers in program and curriculum design, ensuring investments in learning are immediately applicable. At Canada’s polytechnics, programs are designed in collaboration with industry through Program Advisory Committees (PACs). The PAC “ensures programs are current and relevant to industry, business and society.” Committees identify future trends and align delivery around employer demands. Programs are purpose-built to deliver the skills employers need using the most up-to-date technologies, equipment and techniques.
Craig notes that employer partnership must go well beyond curriculum development. Learner preparedness can be further bolstered by engaging in real-world projects with employers. Employers and students both benefit in co-location spaces where business and education collide.
At polytechnics, applied research connects employers of all sizes to innovation-enabling expertise and facilities. When an employer enters into an innovation partnership with a polytechnic, part of the deal is often student involvement. In 2018, the 13 members of Polytechnics Canada engaged 13,200 students on 5,700 applied research projects with 3,000 clients. Among the results, these projects delivered 1,400 prototypes.
On the subject of co-location, dedicated spaces facilitate collaboration between businesses looking to scale and polytechnics brimming with talent and ideas. Collaborative spaces allow students and industry to come together to conduct tangible research and enhance innovation readiness, while also building real-world experience and developing competencies like critical thinking and communication.
For example, the Innovative Manufacturing Centre at Saskatchewan Polytechnic allows manufacturers to access student and faculty talent, along with the latest tools and equipment to improve their production methods and test new ideas. When career-readiness is on the line, look no further than the polytechnic.
Soft skills in the new world of work
In today’s environment, success in the labour market won’t be driven by technical skills alone. Work is increasingly collaborative, demanding cross-functionality, communication and team work. Further, as technology evolves, the lifespan of technical skills is shrinking. Craig interviews Yasmine, a recent computer science graduate who laments that after learning C++ throughout her schooling, employers were looking for Java, C# and web-development skills.
Human skills will also be critical as artificial intelligence (AI) evolves, making creativity and critical thinking our competitive advantage. The tricky part is how best to develop these skills – communication skills aren’t learned from a book, they are practiced, developed and enhanced in the real world. While young people once developed these skills in entry-level, part-time jobs, Craig notes that these jobs are harder to come by than in the past.
At polytechnics, experiential learning is filling the void. Many of today’s programs are being designed to allow learners to spend time in their future work environment, working on real challenges, with real clients, customers and co-workers. Typically, experiential learning takes the form of internships, co-ops, professional practice and apprenticeships.
In Canada, there has been a massive push to expand work-integrated learning (WIL) opportunities for students. In fact, the 2019 federal budget committed significant dollars to boosting the number of learners able to access experiential learning. Nearly $800-million was invested to create WIL placements through two vehicles – the Student Work Placement Program and the Business/Higher Education Roundtable.
Competencies are the new currency
A New U also highlights another interesting challenge new grads face in the world of work as the credentials they’ve worked so hard to achieve become increasingly irrelevant to employers. Some employers note that credentials are no longer a good predictor of performance. In fact, a number of prominent multinational firms have dropped the requirement for credentials altogether. Employers like Microsoft, Ernst and Young, and Google are turning to competency as the HR currency, requiring new employees to demonstrate their skills. When hiring software developers, for example, these companies might choose to review an online portfolio of code rather than a résumé or a transcript.
Should this approach become mainstream, traditional credential delivery will be turned on its head. Those who want to produce employment-ready graduates will have to consider how to make credentials more transparent, allowing employers to “peek under the hood.”
Some institutions are experimenting with the delivery of micro-credentials – smaller, bite-sized credentials – delivered when an individual demonstrates mastery of a particular competency. At Humber College, along with a full credential in architectural technology, learners can earn a separate micro-credential in the building information modelling software program REVIT, providing employers an explicit signal of proficiency. Micro-credentials and digital badges can stacked, highlighting a broad set of inter-connected skills.
Craig points to a lack of skills data, saying “employers haven’t been clear on the skills they require and educators haven’t been particularly interested in finding out.” His proposed remedy is a “competency marketplace.” Here, micro-credentials, E-portfolios and competency-based training will make it easier for employers to understand the supply side of the market. At the same time, “people analytics” that allow HR professionals to track employee performance and feed into better job descriptions will give educators better insight into demand. Craig suggests digital platforms that use this data could eventually create better employer-employee matches.
Conclusion
As those in higher education consider how best to respond in an environment of extraordinary change – change affecting technology, demographics, trade, politics and the very nature of employment – keeping pace must be a primary concern. Agility is increasingly required of systems traditionally slow to evolve. Yet, to serve learners in a changing labour market and deliver the tools required for economic success, this flexibility is essential. For those looking for insights, Ryan Craig’s A New U is a great place to start.
