Everyone has an opinion about what the future of work will look like, but no one holds definitive answers. Given both the pace and scale of the change coming and the uncertainty surrounding it, how can we prepare the next generation for the future? techUK surveyed more than 100 parents working in the tech sector to find out what they thought the future of work held for their children, and how well our education system today was preparing them for the jobs and labour market of tomorrow.
Our findings reveal that today’s parents are optimistic about the future world of work and the opportunities that will be available to their children. However, they also believe that the education system needs to adapt in order to better prepare children for the future. At its heart, a fundamental rebalancing is needed. Today’s curriculum remains too “knowledge-heavy”, with 65 per cent of the parents we spoke to saying more needed to be done to nurture soft skills such as leadership and critical thinking.
With greater use of robotics and AI it will be our very human skills that mark us out – from empathy and compassion to leadership and creativity – and allow us to make the most of humans and machines working together.
techUK, and the parents we spoke to, are optimistic about the future. But to reap the benefits and mitigate against the risks we must start preparing now. That means being bold and radical.
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