Missing the mark: Schools failing to prepare kids for the real world

SCHOOLS have been told they could do better and are failing to prepare kids for the real world, a new report has warned.

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SCHOOLS have been told they could do better and are failing to prepare kids for the real world.

Rather than facing the future head-on, the Aussie education system still has one foot on the factory floor, according the Mitchell Institute’s latest report, Preparing young people for the future of work.

“Our education system was formed in the manufacturing era, it was not designed to teach students how to navigate complex environments and multiple careers,” said report co-author, public policy expert Megan O’Connell.

Ms O’Connell said if young people were to thrive in hi-tech, global, competitive job markets, they needed different skill sets to those taught in the traditional curriculum.

The report found:

— Technology was rapidly replacing many jobs but our education model has been static for years

— An estimated 40 per cent of jobs are at risk of being automated in the next 10-15 years

— Children starting preschool this year [2017] will have jobs not yet imagined, but our education system was designed in the wake of the industrial revolution

— Society’s tendency to steer some young people away from VET and some towards it means some students don’t follow the pathway best-suited to their interests.

The report was the result of Victoria University-based institute gathering leaders from government, education and industry to discuss why unemployment rates were so high among young people, even those with qualifications.

The group agreed unanimously that Australia’s education system focused too narrowly on traditional knowledge and “urgently needs to change”.

In 2007 the fulltime employment rate for graduates with a bachelor’s degree was 85 per cent, but that dropped to 58 per cent by last year [2016] and only a third of VET graduates found full time work in their field.

Mitchell International Fellow, Professor Bill Lucas, said the school curriculum should prioritise creativity, critical thinking, curiosity and communication skills.

“Young people need to bring more than knowledge to the modern workforce. If you struggle to solve problems, collaborate or come up with new ideas, you won’t fare well in today’s or tomorrow’s job markets,” he said.

Schools could help students thrive as adults.

“It is time to accept that what students have learned for decades is no longer enough — it is time to change,” Prof Lucas said.