• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Bedfordshire
  • Milton Keynes
  • Northamptonshire
  • Awards
  • Knowledge Hub
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
    • Sustainability
    • The Podcast
    • ATB TV
All Things Business

All Things Business

First For Local UK Business News

  • Education
  • Professional Services
    • Legal
    • Finance
    • Recruitment & HR
    • Creative Marketing
  • Property
  • Environment
    • Wellbeing
  • Industry
    • Industry
    • Manufacturing
    • Motors
    • Logistics
    • Technology
  • Events
    • Events
    • Food & Drink
    • Sport
  • News

The agile world of upskilling

Education, News | June 1, 2021

An architect, a cost consultant and a structural engineer walked into a bar…

This sounds like the beginning of a bad joke but when I asked my husband how his world of work was evolving, these are the professions he chose and, as he reeled off the job titles, I was minded of the old ‘walked into a bar’ joke.

But to the point of this piece. Earlier in the term, I wrote a blog exploring some of the theories about the future of the workplace set out by Daniel Susskind (2020). My closing comments of that piece focused on the idea that the world of secondary education is beginning to really embrace the development of skills over simply covering content. I would like to expand on that theme, not by considering how we ensure our pupils develop the skills (that is for another piece) but by considering how exactly workplaces have changed, and continue to change, and what this means for the future workforce. 

Let us consider the job of navigator in the Air Force. In the era before technology was used in aeroplanes, the job was highly skilled and specialist. Navigators might have had the same basic training as the pilot, but without the navigator by their side the pilot was blind. The flight plan was mapped out literally on a paper map and the pilot was given directions as they flew. Fly forward to 2021 and the job of navigator is still in existence but many fighter planes are single-seater now. The navigator plots the route electronically and with the assistance of GPS the pilot can follow the plan from the instrument panel. So, training as a navigator in the 1950s was vastly different from training in 2021, even though the basic aptitudes are the same. 

Which leads to the idea of developing transferable skills, which is something we discuss frequently with our pupils in school. 

I am reminded of the film The Full Monty, and not the scenes for which it is probably most renowned. For readers who have not seen it, set in Sheffield in the 1990s, the film centres on a group of ex-steel workers. In a series of scenes set in the local job centre, we see the men receiving support and ‘upskilling’ to prepare them for other jobs. It is Gerald, the much ridiculed ex-foreman of the steelworks, who demonstrates that his skills of leadership and staff management are more easily transferred to a new job than the manual skills of his team. You could replace The Full Monty with Billy Elliot or Brassed Off (1980s and mining but with similar themes of transferable skills underlying the big screen plots). 

The generally accepted list of 21st Century skills are: critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, communication, information literacy, media literacy, technology literacy, flexibility, leadership, initiative, productivity and social skills. 

I wouldn’t suggest that many of these skills aren’t built into our curriculum altar, but some of them are difficult to teach discreetly; how does one teach productivity or flexibility for example? The simple answer is by giving daily opportunities for students to time manage, work with different people, in different environments and to sometimes fail. 

Yes, fail!

After all, how else do we teach our students that they may not get the job they applied for, or the scholarship they coveted, or the grade they worked hard for. And, more importantly, how else do we teach them that in the modern world of work you need to be agile and that sometimes the job you thought you had trained for now needs different skills, but the same aptitudes. 

Before I wrap this up, I know you’re wondering about the architect, cost consultant and structural engineer! My husband’s prediction is that in the future these three roles could be carried out by one person, rather than three. At the moment, the architect designs the building, the cost consultant works out how much it will cost to build and the structural engineer makes sure the design will actually result in a building that stands up (with apologies for my oversimplification of these professions!). 

With the rapid development of software that models buildings and databases containing costs of components, it may not be long before an architect can design, cost and model a building. All that is required are the tech skills to manipulate the software successfully – and of course, agility, flexibility, technology literacy and collaboration. 

For more information about Northampton High School and to book a personal tour, visit northamptonhigh.co.uk/visit-us or call 01604 765765 

–

To read Adele’s previous blog entry, visit northamptonhigh.co.uk/blogs/school-blog

Northamptonshire

Related stories

  • Howes Percival Northamptonshire
    May 17, 2022

    A trio of new partners in East Mids among five senior promotions

    Leading regional law firm, Howes Percival has announced five senior promotions in the East Mids, including a trio of new partners, Katherine…
  • Northampton High Northamptonshire
    May 9, 2022

    New Head for Junior School at Northampton High School

    Emily Hair, new Head of Northampton High’s Junior School and Nursery, brings broad primary and Early Years experience, most recently in post…
  • The Falcon Northamptonshire
    May 6, 2022

    Hotel takes flight in a whole new direction

    After a rather mixed recent history, the future of The Falcon at Castle Ashby is looking healthy again – literally. The running…

About Rebecca Shears

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Stay up to date on All Things Business

Subscribe to our monthly newsletter to receive the latest business news.

Online Edition

Northamptonshire edition, click here
Milton Keynes edition, click here
Bedfordshire edition, click here

Most Read

  • MK Gateway Taking centre stage at real estate forum
  • Howes Percival A trio of new partners in East Mids among five senior promotions
  • Northampton High New Head for Junior School at Northampton High School
  • Hospital invests in campaign to attract healthcare talent Hospital invests in campaign to attract healthcare talent
  • Wyboston Lakes Resort Wyboston Lakes Resort shortlisted for two prestigious prizes at this year’s Conference & Events Awards

Footer

REGIONS

Northamptonshire
Milton Keynes
Bedfordshire
 

COMPANY

About Us
Contact
Awards
Podcast
Knowledge Hub
Sustainability
Request A Copy

Northamptonshire Office

1 Queensbridge, Northampton
NN4 7BF
Tel: 01604 267677

Milton Keynes and Bedfordshire Office

The Pinnacle, 170 Midsummer Boulevard, Milton Keynes,
MK9 1BP
Tel: 01908 030688

London Office

25 Bedford Square
London
WC1B 3HH
Tel: 0208 1760176

Follow us on

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter

All Things Business is a publication produced by All Things Management Ltd. Registered in England No. 9590677


Privacy Policy