Making Students Future-Ready: Blending Skill Development With School Education

They say that children learn a lot in their formative years while their memory, attention span, and language skills develop. However, during their growing years, children need the right guidance that will help them identify and nurture these innate skills. But a lot also depends on a child’s temperament and personality to understand these skills and work towards honing them. During these impressionable years, schools and teachers play a vital role in discovering their interests and enhancing their skills. 

Moreover, in a world that is constantly transforming, it is this young generation that is going to usher in a new era of change and sustain it. For that, skill development is vital. So, let’s explore various ways to carry out skill development at the school level and the importance of developing skills from a young age to have a future-ready workforce. 

Creating future-ready students through advanced educational approaches

Gone are the days when education was limited to the pages of a book and students memorised information solely to pass an examination. Educators are pushing the envelope and helping students possess skills that go beyond jobs and technology – and will last them a lifetime. Here are some of the reasons why skill-based learning has become imperative in schools:

• Promotes independence
• Enhances creativity and encourages teamwork
• Develops students’ social skills
• Improves their communication skills
• Makes them fast learners

Ways to prepare students for the workforce of the future:

1. Identify specific future-ready skills in children: Education needs to evolve if it has to accommodate students with an enhanced skill set. Students must learn certain skills that will help them easily adjust and blend into the workforce of tomorrow. In this case, teachers can identify what the child needs and accordingly tailor the educational needs of the students.
2. Encourage students to be more creative: Students need to be pushed out of their comfort zones and motivated to think out-of-the-box. This will foster an environment of creativity and inspire them to try new things and share their creative thoughts with others. In this way, children also come together to discuss and share their ideas, knowledge, interests, etc.
3. Make communication an essential part of their journey: The new age of learning includes bringing new concepts to the table and exploring them. However, children need to be taught the art of communication, which can prove to be useful in their growing up years. Teachers must encourage students to communicate their thoughts and ideas more clearly and without any hesitation. 
4. Introduce a student-led learning approach: To embrace an effective student-led learning approach, schools need to understand that in student-based learning, the students are at the core, and not the educators. Students must have a say in making the classrooms future-ready as well as be more involved in technology deployment decisions.
5. Make students think on their feet: In this day and age, where things are moving at an accelerated pace, quick thinking and adapting to a situation has become the need of the hour. Thus, these skills need to be ingrained in students, so that they learn how to deal with an emergency with their prompt thinking and adaptability skills. 
6. Inspire students to take calculated risks: Every new or creative thing brings with it a certain set of risks. But students should be motivated to experiment with new ideas and different thought processes. Instead of fearing failure or making mistakes, students delve deeper into their thoughts and make the most of these opportunities for growth. 

Choosing a career path: Things students should consider:

• Realise what they are good at and know what they like
• Think about their future and what they want from it
• Develop valuable and transferable skills
• Set achievable goals for students to meet

To move ahead, it is necessary to pause and look back for a second and recognise the need for skill development in children. Teachers need to ensure that imagination and creativity flow smoothly and students are given the right avenues to discover and enhance their skills. For this purpose, students and teachers need to become partners in this endeavour, because, in the end, students must be taught how to think, not what to think.

Rohan Parikh

Guest Author The author is Managing Director - The Green Acres Academy