Montexcel Research - Fostering skills in students will lead to improved economic outcomes

FINCHLEY ROAD, U.K. - July 25, 2013 - PRLog -- Montexcel Research - Fostering skills in students will lead to improved economic outcomes

Preparing students to contribute effectively in the workplace should be a central aim of industrial trainers. This skills gap is causing problems for both developed and developing countries, citing poor workplace productivity and decreasing standards of living as just some of the detrimental effects arising from this weakness seen in education systems around the world.  In GCC countries, this problem is particularly acute. Youth unemployment and underemployment levels in the Gulf are some of the highest in the world, and employers consistently complain about the difficulty in finding employees who possess necessary work place skills and behaviours. There is strong empirical evidence to support the fact that many learners, employees and graduates are not sufficiently developing their broader skills and attitudes to ensure employability and to maximise economic returns for the individual, employer or country. The time is right to address these issues and develop new content and assessment approaches to ensure the barriers to competitive potential are clearly identified, understood and addressed.

More attention needs to be paid to instilling learners at all levels of the education system with the skills demanded by modern workplaces, such as 21st-century skills. These include initiative and self-direction; leadership; negotiation; planning and organisation; problem solving and resourcefulness and adaptability. And these skills need to be taught from the beginning of a child's education. While great gains are being made in improving education systems, if we are truly to address this pressing skills gap issue, we need to start embedding 21st-century skills into curricula from the earliest levels of schooling when children enter the education system, typically at age five.

The serious social and economic consequences that will arise if action to address the skills crisis is not addressed. How well the employment and training needs of industries and governments are being met by education and training providers is a critical issue for decision makers not only in the GCC, but right around the world. This problem is more acute now than ever before as governments are contending with the difficulties arising from the current economic downturn. Yet the outcomes of not getting the balance right are significant. If employers do not get the skilled workforce they need, if individuals do not get the training they need, then economic competitiveness and social cohesiveness will suffer.

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