Things have already changed. Are your kids ready for it?
Major changes in the education and career landscape that have gone overlooked
The Changing Times
Do you remember the days where we used Nokia phones?
The iPhone and smartphones came up in 2007, and took just 1 year to overtake Nokia phones in terms of public interest. If you look closely at the data, there were people who continued to show interest in Nokia all the way till the 2010s.
In other words, despite overwhelming evidence of smartphones being “the way to go”, there were people still clinging to older ways. If you’re reading this, I believe you are one of the people who switched over to smartphones relatively quickly.
This change was inevitable. Smartphones were simply more productive and effective.
In Education & Careers
It’s 2024 and at the workplace, we have already learned to see beyond GPAs and grades for our hires. We have enough experience hiring to know that there are many factors beyond academic ability that determine how successful a person is beyond their studies.
Some changes that have already happened
Take note that the following points represents trends. Things are moving, and they are likely to keep changing instead of reverting back to what it used to be.
1. More polytechnic graduates entering university <- Read More
In reviewing statistics by MOE as of 2023, about 30% of poly graduates enter universities here, compared to 20% in 2012. We used to believe that it was hard to enter university from poly but this is changing.
With the practical and industry-relevant skills taught, as well as the numerous chances to gain work experiences and build portfolios, polytechnics have become increasingly popular. Universities have also started to value the experiences that students gain in polytechnics more as well.
2. Portfolio-based admissions are mainstream at universities <- Read More
In 2023, 57% of students (~3600 students) admitted to NTU were admitted based on their portfolio. While NUS did not disclose the number of students admitted by portfolio, they did share that a significant number of students were admitted that way.
Another popular university, SMU, is also well-known for admitting students based on other traits like soft skills and experiences outside of studies too.
While these universities still have minimum grade requirements, this is largely only to ensure students can keep up with the rigour of the studies, not because they believe it necessarily implies the quality of the students.
This was a trend that was more than 5 years in the making.
Back in 2016, a relatively high profile story of Gabrielle Ong made the news as a passionate programmer choosing to develop her skills and portfolio instead of furthering her studies immediately like most of her peers.
This strong portfolio she built eventually got her lucrative jobs, as well as invitations by professors in schools like NUS to join their university because of the talent she displayed through her portfolio.
3. Portfolio-based admissions increasingly common at poly <- Read More
In 2023, 20% of students (~4200 students) were admitted to polytechnics based on their portfolio.
In my course of work with secondary schools, many schools have also opted to invest more into helping students pick up portfolio experiences like company visits, work attachments, and learning technical skills in order to improve their prospects.
One of the schools we work with even created a programme where students take one less subject, just so they can pursue these other opportunities.
4. Increasing number of people pursuing a Gap Year <- Read More
Going to JC is still on the minds of many parents and kids. The perceived prestige and value of that path is still present for many. However, an increasing number of JC graduates are choosing to take a gap year.
For those unaware, a gap year is a year of break where instead of going straight to the next phase of university, students choose to explore. They take on part-time jobs, travel, volunteer etc. in order to better understand themselves and what they want.
We have found this to be more prevalent among students who have attended many tuition classes in their youth, as this deprives them the opportunities to understand themselves and what they want to pursue.
What is fortunate though is that this gap year often turns out extremely valuable as students gain a lot more wisdom and perspective during this time. For those that continue on to university, the extra year helped them mature and take their studies and pursuits more seriously as well.
5. Skills & work experience valued over grades <- Read More
Past the education phase, more companies and even government agencies are pushing for skills-based and experience-based hiring. The government is also heavily pushing for education institutions to adapt and change faster to match what the economy needs.
Among millennials and now Gen Z young adults, they are increasingly expected to have a few years of work experience for entry level jobs upon graduation.
While most feel this is unfair and ridiculous, the reality is that there are many fresh graduates that make the mark and end up performing well at work.
To do this, many of them have side pursuits and passion projects which are the kind of work experience that companies are looking for. These are much stronger and effective signals for the capability of young people.
6. AI disruption in Education & Work<- Read More
It took us less than 2 years to start adopting ChatGPT as part of our mainstream work. Many of us already use it for our jobs.
It took us less time to adapt to this than it takes for a child to learn to read.
What will the world be like 10 years later? Because that’s the world that our kids will be entering. We can be sure that AI will continue to exist and it will only become accelerated in it’s adoption and usefulness.
For now, most students have been using ChatGPT for their essays, assignments, university applications when they need to write personal statements.
Universities and employers are aware and thus actively looking out for evidence of capability, not just well-written essays and statements.
ChatGPT is clear to most of us by now, but every industry will develop their own specific ways to use AI.
In a recent workshop we conducted, we helped students to see how Generative AI can be used to create a storyboard draft to for a possible movie, creating a script, and images to guide video production.
How is AI used in Healthcare? Law? Finance? Design? Travel?
For the speed that AI is developing, it will take way too long for students to only learn about these things in higher education and when they enter the workforce.
This is the current new frontier. Students need to learn how to effectively use AI for their work. It will be one of the new literacies they must get familar with.
At the start, we looked at how it took many people quite a long time for some people to move from Nokia phones to smartphones.
A similar change is happening in the education and work landscape.
There is an increased need to students to be intentional about their lives, whether it’s in determining a path for themselves or exploring what’s out there.
How we help
We understand that not every child and parents has the time, network, and expertise to provide kids with the exposure and coaching they may need. That is why many parents ask if they can have their kids join our career discovery programmes when they find out what we do with schools.
After a number of years, we are finally ready to launch this to parents and kids directly.
Our Career Exploration: Pathways Programme is focused on helping young people start the journey of preparing for the future by:
- Real work exposure — Helping young people see what the world needs by understanding a variety of industries and work. Help them go beyond stereotypes and surface knowledge of the working world.
- Build soft skills — Interacting with industry leaders and working adults to build their confidence and communication skills.
- Build portfolio — Pathways is just the starting step to help young people start seeing what matters in the working and adult world. As youth explore several industries, they start to see the importance of building experience and skills beyond school.
We are organising a few condensed runs of this programme in June 2024. Students will get to visit a combination of 2 of the following 4 industries for each run they join: Healthcare, Law, IT, Finance.
Find out more about our programmes by indicating your interest here. We will email you detailed information about the programme and how your child can participate in it.
