WHY OUR EDUCATION SYSTEMS NEED TO EVOLVE

Another dimension of the early burn-out crisis points to how a rapidly changing job market is demanding corresponding changes in our education systems. “People are changing careers more often now, so the emphasis is no longer on knowledge; it’s more about transferable skills,” says Magdalena Kozlowska. “And we’re letting students out that aren’t very well-prepared. They are prepared for a world that was with us a little while ago, but it’s not here anymore.”

This, according to David Jones, calls for more emphasis on building self-awareness as the higher purpose of education in general, and on comprehensive career guidance. “These factors are essential for making an effective transition from education to the workplace, and indeed for multiple career changes in the future and yet we don’t get any academic credits in university for doing that, do we?”

So, what is the workplace looking these days?

A degree specifying subject expertise is just a “ticket to the game, a necessary but not sufficient condition for selection,” says David. “What most employers focus on are employability strengths; does this person have grit, a comfort with ambiguity, resilience, confidence and a growth mindset for instance, since whatever they know today, in five years, may be largely irrelevant anyway in many careers.

‘‘Can they learn quickly in new environments, with new people, in new situations and new technology? Can they collaborate effectively with a wide range of different people around them? These employability factors are often more important in the workplace, to promote both productivity and positivity.”