As we think about how we bolster resiliency, while also acknowledging the difficult situations many of us are facing during the second year of a pandemic, it can be difficult to focus on what skills we need to develop in ourselves and our students. One important factor is to look at what employers are asking for.
Given the highly unstable job market, focusing on what employers are looking for can become quite difficult, since it may change daily. But there has been a trend developing well before the pandemic. Managers and owners want more liberally educated workers.
By this, they mean that they want workers that learned to engage in “‘in forms of inquiry that train the intellect through a focus on real-world problems that draw the learner into relationships with others.'”
Engaging students with real-world problems in a collaborative setting prepares them with the 21st-century skills that enable them to respond effectively to new and unprecedented change. Colleges that can provide this level of experience, in short, will be the way of the future.