The Role of Higher Education in the Work Force
The Role of Higher Education in the Work Force
Traditional notions of education are no longer sufficient to prepare a workforce for a contingent and dynamic world. Currently, we live in an era driven by information, global competition, and new technologies that are changing the way we think, live, and work. The Industrial Revolution was built on machinery, skills and labor; however, the information and knowledge-based revolution of the 21st Century is being built on investment, intellect, and creativity. New jobs are emerging which require a different set of knowledge, skills, and attitudes. To cope with such changes we need continuous education and development of “the human mind and imagination” which, to a large extent, is undertaken by higher education. Higher education can be obtained in the workplace through training by managers and supervisors. It can also be attained through universities, technical school, and continuing education courses.
‘Work-based learning’, as explained by Carol Costley from the National Institute of Work Based Learning, Middlesex University, is part of a cluster of concepts, including ‘lifelong learning’, ‘employability’ and ‘flexibility’. One of the challenges which results from this for higher education providers to employees is to attempt to introduce some clarity about what work based learning at this level involves and the contexts in which it occurs. “It is evident there can be no single or simple definition of what work based learning entails beyond the notion that it is about learning (not teaching) and occurs in the workplace (rather than on campus). As such, work based learning can, and should be, distinguished from the notion of work related learning; the latter, in the form of vocational programs designed to prepare people for employment which often includes employer-determined competencies, and does not necessarily require significant areas of the curriculum to be completed in the work place itself. Neither should it be
Traditional notions of education are no longer sufficient to prepare a workforce for a contingent and dynamic world. Currently, we live in an era driven by information, global competition, and new technologies that are changing the way we think, live, and work. The Industrial Revolution was built on machinery, skills and labor; however, the information and knowledge-based revolution of the 21st Century is being built on investment, intellect, and creativity. New jobs are emerging which require a different set of knowledge, skills, and attitudes. To cope with such changes we need continuous education and development of “the human mind and imagination” which, to a large extent, is undertaken by higher education. Higher education can be obtained in the workplace through training by managers and supervisors. It can also be attained through universities, technical school, and continuing education courses.
‘Work-based learning’, as explained by Carol Costley from the National Institute of Work Based Learning, Middlesex University, is part of a cluster of concepts, including ‘lifelong learning’, ‘employability’ and ‘flexibility’. One of the challenges which results from this for higher education providers to employees is to attempt to introduce some clarity about what work based learning at this level involves and the contexts in which it occurs. “It is evident there can be no single or simple definition of what work based learning entails beyond the notion that it is about learning (not teaching) and occurs in the workplace (rather than on campus). As such, work based learning can, and should be, distinguished from the notion of work related learning; the latter, in the form of vocational programs designed to prepare people for employment which often includes employer-determined competencies, and does not necessarily require significant areas of the curriculum to be completed in the work place itself. Neither should it be