Ten million young people enter the global workforce every month, according to the World Economic Forum. This population alone intensifies the competitiveness of job markets. While some get the jobs they want and studied for, more end up underemployed if not unemployed.
Young people today have no choice but to be competitive, and they need to learn the ropes as early as possible. Is your child ready for what’s ahead?
A Global Mindset
The world is noticeably in turmoil because of clashes in culture, politics, ethics, and personal beliefs. Young people today are witnessing the repercussions of ethnocentrism, and that ignorance of what’s happening beyond one’s national borders can be just as harmful to peace as blatant refusal to accept and respect racial differences.
Primary and secondary schools are crucial to the future global landscape because the bulk of children’s formative years happen there. It’s not an exaggeration to say that students are a reflection of a school, and this drives home the necessity of choosing an institution that will prepare your children for the future.
Some schools place significant emphasis on academics, implementing a rigorous curriculum that focuses on maths and science. International schools, on the other hand, have a more holistic approach to education. High school programs in international schools focus on extra-curricular activities, the arts, sports, music and other mediums of learning. Students get to choose one or two languages to learn in their four years in school.
Since many international schools’ enrollees are children of expats and foreigners, they are exposed to different cultures and beliefs. Diversity is the norm, which can help young people acclimate better in diverse environments when entering the global workforce years later.
Critical Skills
The World Economic Forum cites the following skills as crucial for young people to be competitive and become capable, competent contributors to society in the future:
- Foundational Skills – Literacy and mastery of numbers covered in the first 12 years of formal education, are the cornerstones of the skill sets that young people need for the future.
- Transferable Skills – These are the skills useful to all employers across the board, no matter the industry or position’s rank. Examples of these skills are leadership, organisational adeptness, the ability to work well with a team, effectiveness in communication, and reliable problem-solving. Employers value these skills almost as much (sometimes more than) job-specific skills.
- Job-Specific Skills – Skills exclusive to a job or position are crucial for young people who want to become specialists like surgeons, doctors, accountants, lawyers, computer programmers, pilots, and engineers.
- Digital Skills – We have entered the Information Age; people who refuse to acknowledge the fact or adapt to it will be sorely left behind. Teens who are adept at using technology and digital tools will have a distinct advantage over their less knowledgeable peers.
Equip your children for the future. Start by exposing them to an environment where they can grow vastly in academics while developing practical skill sets and qualities that would help them find success in whatever career they choose.