Why balance of critical thinking and other soft skills alongside academic studies will prepare students for the future
- Employers keen to hire workers with ability to solve complex problems, analyse information and understand feelings of others, World Economic Forum’s 2020 report shows
- Nord Anglia International School, Hong Kong offers students chance to learn through partnerships with Juilliard School, MIT and Unicef to help train children in these qualities
Complex problem-solving, creativity, critical thinking – an ability to analyse whether information is true or false – and emotional intelligence, an understanding of our feelings and those of others, are the top four soft skills employers want the global workforce to master by 2025, Swiss non-profit foundation, World Economic Forum, predicted in its “The Future of Jobs Report 2020”.
These four personal qualities, which help people work and interact with others, are growing in importance as the increasing use of digital innovation, artificial intelligence and robotics rapidly reshape the future landscape of business and employment.
Nord Anglia International School, Hong Kong – part of international schools provider Nord Anglia Education’s global network of 82 schools – follows an education system based partly on the English national curriculum at its three early years, primary and secondary school campuses in Sai Kung, Lam Tin and Kwun Tong respectively, for children aged three to 18.
It provides a unique programme of soft-skills training alongside a broad-based academic curriculum to help students navigate the increasingly complex and unpredictable future.
Kenny Duncan, principal of the school, who was previously an adviser to Britain’s Department of Education, says the role of education is not only to impart knowledge within a finite range of subjects, but to also equip students with qualities that include resilience, curiosity, confidence and empathy.
“Soft skills are those transferable skills that are crucial for coping with whatever the world throws at people,” he says. “We need to prepare children for roles that probably don’t exist yet, for technologies that aren’t present now, but that will be an integrated part of their future.”
Nord Anglia Education’s own research into the most important skills that young people will need for future success reflect these sentiments to build resilience and resourcefulness in younger generations.
The study targeted 18- to 25-year-old Gen Z-ers, the age group graduating from higher education or entering the workplace following the impact brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic, amid continuing global uncertainty. According to the research findings, problem-solving and critical thinking, confidence, resilience and well-being were among the top five aptitudes and soft skills cited as necessary by participants.
