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The World Economic Forum published their list which highlights the most in demand skills leaders of business are stating that young people will need by 2020.
This blog explores the skills in this list and considers the implications for our own teaching & learning.
Looking at these two lists of the qualities employers will prefer, I started to reflect on how schools are recognizing and investing in our leaders & entrepreneurs of the future.
Critical thinking has jumped from 4th in the 2015 list to second in the 2020 list. If we dissect what critical thinking entails (logically making connections between ideas, analysis of theories, evaluation, argument & debating, concluding) this progression up the skills chart is maybe not so surprising. To be part of an ever changing business world, demands individuals who are able to apply these skills to keep moving forward, meeting the needs of an evolving business landscape.
Maybe more surprising to me is the fall in the skill of negotiation; a valid and essential life skill I would suggest. Without negotiation does this imply that it’s a one size fits all approach or there is only one way of doing things- the leader’s way? What is involved in negotiation? An understanding of others’ point of view? Active listening? Leadership skills to inspire, motivate & empower? Surely vital skills to be comfortable with.
New in the 2020 list are the qualities of emotional intelligence & cognitive flexibility.
Emotional intelligence is defined as the capability of others to recognize their own emotions & those of others, identify a range of feelings & label them appropriately. Significantly, a high level of emotional intelligence enables the individual to adjust emotions to adapt to differing environments. To be able to modify & adapt to emerging situations together with a secure base of reasoning, I would argue is not only core of leadership but also healthy participation within society as a whole.
Cognitive flexibility has been described as the mental ability to switch between thinking about two different concepts & to think about multiple concepts simultaneously. Within this are the subskills of task switching & cognitive shifting; which enables the individual to adapt, refine & assimilate new experiences or events. Considering the amazing leads I have worked with, I can see the significance of these qualities & they are the attributes I remember most fondly abut them.
Significantly, creativity has moved up the 2020 list seven places to number 3 on the list.
I see creativity as the ability to create, develop & present meaningful new ideas, thoughts & opinions within the scope of the Arts in order to represent, challenge or stimulate thoughts & opinions from others.
When we consider the qualities involved within this definition, perhaps they would include the skull of possibility thinking, sequencing & ordering based on a theory, an understanding of verbal & non verbal communication & the ability to motivate others using a range of strategies.
If our main aim in education is to support children to be happy, healthy (emotionally as well as physically) & transition successfully into citizens of the future (obviously meeting their own individual potential) could there be an opportunity to reflect on how our current provision supports children to be aware of & strengthen these key skills?
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Our website and ready-to-use resources bring to life the incredible stories of game changers from history – ordinary people who used their character strengths to help them achieve extraordinary things. Our site has been carefully designed to support learning and development on a whole-school basis, across the whole curriculum.
Chatty Learning are an innovative provider of software, training and speech and language therapy services to support the development of communication skills in the most disadvantaged children. We help overcome word poverty to get children talking, reading and thriving in schools and settings.
https://www.communitybrands.com/
Community Brands comprises of market-leading education technology tools trusted by over 18,000 schools. Our solutions provide customers with benefits by reducing costs, offering staff more time to focus on their priorities, and working with leadership teams to achieve your goals.
Jigsaw supports teachers to champion children and young people designed as a whole-school approach programme with weekly lesson plans. Jigsaw provides all teaching resources, helping teachers confidently teach a well-being curriculum.
Is it Time to Play? provides high-quality planning, resources and training rooted in the core value of play-based learning. Specifically tailored to the unique needs of the Early Years (including Reception classes), Is it Time to Play? resources truly make “Play and Learning Fit”.
Brightcore Consultancy delivers comprehensive, reflective, and transformational training and consultancy support for education setting and related businesses in the fields of safeguarding, mental health, and wellbeing. Brightcore Consultancy is led by Lead Consultant Oliver Welsby who has extensive experience as a senior leader; both as DSL and a Senior Mental Health Lead, and who specialises in the development of effective mental health strategies and safeguarding practices within education settings, and regularly speaks at sector conferences on these topics. Oliver leads a team of expert associate consultants and trainers who have extensive knowledge and experience in both of these fields, along with individual specialisms to further support Education settings.
A-life provide interactive workshops Health & Wellbeing that take the workload off the teachers and engage children so they learn to develop healthy habits from a young age. We have taught over 1 million children through our school workshops that are engaging and accessible-for-all.__https://www.youtube.com/watch
https://discoveryschemeofwork.com/
Discovery RE® is an enquiry approach to Religious Education for Primary Schools which consistently delivers excellent learning outcomes. The programme is a comprehensive set of detailed medium-term planning for Religious Education from Nursery to Year 6 (for 3–11-year-olds).