
It’s not about STEM anymore
Earlier this year I had the enviable experience of peeking under the hood of Australia’s education system whilst working on a short contract at one of our state government agencies. Let’s just say it answered a lot of questions for me!
When contemplating, as naturally I do quite often, the future of work, I find it increasingly worrying that little is being done to address the inefficiencies in the education sector while we are staring down the barrel of an AI, ML and Robotics loaded shotgun. I am not sure what part of the “fourth industrial revolution” our government doesn’t get.
Greg Miller, director & co-founder of analytics firm FAETHM, points out that schools have simply added a couple of specialist subjects like robotics, which sounds great at face value. But what does it mean to the 90% of kids who aren’t tech oriented and don’t opt for it? Miller IMO rightly suggests that digital should be embedded in every aspect of the curriculum; English, Maths, Science.

Christine Lagarde, International Monetary Fund MD says ‘‘all countries need to reinvent their education systems for the digital age. This is not just about adding a few more coding lessons. It is about fostering critical thinking, independent problem-solving, and lifelong learning that can help people adapt to change.’’
So it’s not just about learning STEM subjects anymore. It’s about being educated to be able to thrive in the digital economy. That means nurturing children’s ability to continue to learn in the future, adaptability, curiosity, creativity. Leadership skills, collaboration, communication and dealing with ambiguity — these will be every bit as important as reading, writing and mathematics.
My brief foray into the education sector in NSW was a glance back in time. Where process still exists over purpose, where reams of paper are favoured over digital efficiencies, where change is feared and mediocrity permeates the corridors. It’s no wonder my own son’s school, a private high school of good repute, blathers on about tradition with inaudible sighs of “what’s the world coming to” echoed in the outdated uniforms and myriad lost paper permission slips.
Emma Jones is the Sydney based Founder of Future of Work and also Founder of community Meetup group Men Championing Change.
