'Employers can lead way over students’ workplace skills'
Employers can take the lead in ensuring students have the skills needed to flourish in the workplaces of the future, a breakout session at the GNC was told.
The event, ‘Skills and education: Building Skills for the Next Generation’, which was chaired by Greg Wright, the deputy business editor of The Yorkshire Post, brought together leaders from the worlds of business and education to explore new approaches to training and life-long learning.
The panellists included scientist and entrepreneur Victoria Garcia, the founder of BindEthics, a green tech company developing bio-adhesives for sustainable wood manufacturing and Quicklabs, a science innovation hub.
Ms Garcia, inset, said afterwards: “During the panel what became clear to me is that, regardless of the size of a company, proactivity and creativity – thinking outside the box – are indispensable skills. I also recognised that schools and colleges are making a real effort to equip students with the abilities employers require. I would be very interested to hear Ofsted’s view on how the curriculum might adapt to better reflect employer needs and, in turn, strengthen the national economy.
“By sharing my own hiring experiences as a resource‑limited yet demanding employer, I felt the conversation was authentic, and the audience seemed to appreciate that closeness and honesty in regards to challenges business owners face when finding talent.”
Stephanie Burras, chief executive of Ahead Partnership, which supports businesses to develop their social value strategy through careers education with young people, added: “I thought it was a really interesting discussion in the context of the sectors, roles and skills that are going to be needed for the future, particularly in a workplace that we know will be significantly impacted by technological change and advances in AI.”
Nikki Davis, the principal and CEO of Leeds College of Building, said: “The debate was engaging and highlighted some key areas that both employers and education providers can do to support each other, to ensure the workforce of the future has the right skills. It was great to hear from the audience and to see the level of interest in this subject.”
Paul McCartan, the HR manager at Yara International, added: “Industry needs to ensure it is doing more to collaborate with educators, and from an early age, to ensure this future workforce are equipped with the skills we need.”