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The real skills our children need for the digital age
Schools are challenged to prepare children for the ever-changing workplace, but the jobs they are likely to have, do not yet exist. In this rapidly evolving job market, employees who not only have technical skills but human skills too will be sought after. These soft skills distinguish people from machines and are integral to workplace success.
Examples of these are; teamwork, innovation, problem-solving, integrity, communication, interpersonal, and decision-making skills.
So how can schools integrate these soft skills into their academic programme?
- A well-rounded education. Schools that offer a well-rounded education with enriched experiences provide further opportunities to develop soft skills. Activities involving sport and the arts become an extension of the classroom and a platform to practice teamwork and build relationships, share ideas, think creatively, resolve conflict and develop empathy. These are key skills for life after school and need to be introduced at a young age.
- Collaboration is a vital tool in the workplace, bringing together a variety of perspectives and expertise. It gives companies the competitive edge when they can harness the power of teams from creative and innovative thinkers to those with technical and problem-solving skills. Collaboration does not always come naturally to young children so they need to be taught rules of engagement at school; such as listening to each other and responding respectfully even when they disagree. Classrooms in progressive schools are likely to be arranged in groups where children work together and share ideas. This model not only enhances learning but develops important social skills.
- Problem-solving: Coding has been mentioned as a key competency for the future, but the real value of teaching these skills at school is to stimulate logical thinking and foster creativity and problem-solving. These are essential soft skills that can be applied to most jobs.
- Adaptability is the ability to be flexible and creative in changing situations and has been identified as one of the most essential skills in the Covid-19 world. We have seen this in how children adapted to remote programmes with surprising ease when expected to rapidly shift to a new way of learning.
It is clear that our children are ready to embrace the digital age, but our responsibility as educators is to provide holistic learning that combines technology with the all-important soft skills to ensure the next generation is well-equipped for their future.
Join us for our virtual open morning on 25 July to see how digital is integrated into our holistic learning programme https://www.stbenedicts.co.za/juniorpreparatory/
