Digital skills should be incorporated into the formal education system, for our scholars' benefit in the future of work and the growth of technology.
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| Should Digital Skills Be Incorporated In Formal Education System? |
Should Digital Skills Be Incorporated In Formal Education System?
Digital skills should be incorporated into the formal education system, for our scholars' benefit in the future of work and the growth of technology.
You won't be able to approach the future of jobs if you keep avoiding learning and advancing your digital skills.
Digital skills give you the chance to get jobs, open your doors to participate in emerging sectors, and even start your own business.
The growth of technology and changing nature of the job market, including the high rate of hiring freelancers and the gig economy, make digital skills essential skills to have to get hired.
The coronavirus pandemic has even made digital skills more critical due to the high demand for remote work due to lockdown and maintaining social distance.
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You must have digital skills to be able to work remotely.
Digital skills are the must-have skills almost for everyone in this digital era and for the future of work.
Digital skills will even matter most in the future of the job market.
Currently, many businesses worldwide are looking to hire competent digital skills to raise their brand awareness, manage their social services, generate leads, and increase revenue.
According to UNESCO, digital skills mean ‘a range of abilities to use digital devices, communication applications, and networks to access and manage information. They enable people to create and share digital content, communicate and collaborate, and solve problems for practical and creative self-fulfillment in life, learning, work, and social activities at large’.
The digital skills required in the job market in the past ten years are quite different from what is needed today.
The future of work needs new skills like artificial intelligence, big data, blockchain, cloud computing, the Internet of Things (IoT), machine learning, mobile internet and applications, 3D printing, biotechnology, and other various high-income skills.
There is no way we can continue to keep at bay the incorporation of digital skills in our formal education system.
Technology is growing very fast.
Suppose our children, youth, and even adults have formal education skills but lag behind digital skills. In that case, it's a burden to the country.
You can see that no country has ever managed to overcome the unemployment crisis completely.
To help reduce that extent, governments should ensure their citizens are well equipped with digital skills to grab opportunities of working in the gig economy and freelancing, which offer millions of jobs daily.
According to Upwork’s study in 2020, it shows that $1.2 trillion was contributed by freelancers in the economy of America, which represented 36% of the U.S workforce.
All this became possible because the citizens were well equipped with digital skills.
This contribution shows that both governments benefit equally when the citizens are well equipped with digital skills.
When citizens can work in freelancing and gig economy, it helps reduce its unemployment rate.
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Digital skills are not an option in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
Countries should form a national coalition between the government, public and private education providers, businesses, labor market stakeholders, and other stakeholders to re-imagine the curriculum needs in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
Countries should ensure they integrate digital skills policies in their education system and keep on updating them from time to time to suit the needs of technological development and the job market.
When students are aware of digital skills, it will help them carry on with lifelong learning and help them to keep learning new things from time to time and keep updated.
Digital skills also offer the chances for reskilling and upskilling.
The government should ensure the curriculum is competency-based rather than based on subjects' competency.
Education policy and regulations should be reformed and updated after a particular time to meet the needs and standards of technology development.
Teachers should also receive extensive training in various specialties to ensure they have mastered the digital skills to deliver them to our students.
To achieve the goal of incorporating digital skills in the formal education system, the government should cooperate with businesses and industry to get to know the right stuff needed in the job market.
The government should take severe measures to ensure digital skills, competencies, and technical support to schools and formal education.
Governments should be very keen on ensuring the curriculum is not obsolete concerning technological development and the skills provided are fit for the future of work.
The government should ensure that digital skills are integrated into its formal education system to benefit its citizens and government.
