More than 25 years ago, a professor with a career spanning two decades in the world of work He told us an anecdote: when he left university, he took up space in the family house, put in a desk and a chair, and installed a telephone. He advertised in the yellow pages and the classifieds (for anyone who remembers them) and waited. After a few days, the phone started ringing and, since then, he has had no shortage of work.
This story produces a mixture of tenderness and discomfort in me. Tenderness, due to the simplicity of the image. Disappointing, because our current work landscape makes this story seem like something out of a novel.
It is clear that the traditional employment route, in which studying a degree led to a stable job, and this, to developing a career path inside or outside an organization, is no longer in force. Today’s world of work poses constantly changing challenges. According to the World Economic Forumabout 44% of job skills will change and about 39% of current competencies could become obsolete in the next five years.
If we talk about traditional, knowledge-based learning, this means that around a third of what we received in the classroom will no longer be useful when our students graduate.
What does this mean for universities? That the traditional model, designed for a predictable market, has to be updated. With information in the palm of their hand, students will need models where knowledge is not passively granted, but is actively generated by facing real problems from the beginning of the degree. This will allow them not only to assimilate knowledge, but also to develop transferable skills, such as problem solving, resilience, critical thinking and collaborative work. Unlike knowledge, which can become obsolete, these skills will continue to be essential in the future and will not be limited only to a specific type of work.
This comes hand in hand with a redefinition of employability, which universities have to take into account. The academic degree, obtained after five years or more, is no longer enough. Early practical experience, solving real problems, multidisciplinary work, the use of digital tools and the reputation built inside and outside the company, yes.
From universities, the classroom model with folders, where students listen and the teacher speaks, must change. And methodological innovation is a structural necessity. The challenge is this: train people to perform jobs that do not exist today.
*El Comercio opens its pages to the exchange of ideas and reflections. In this plural framework, the Diario does not necessarily agree with the opinions of the columnists who sign them, although it always respects them.
