Recently I have been working with the Hi-Dream Cup (link in Chinese), which provides university students with training, mentoring and career development opportunities in tech. During the event, students are given opportunities to interact with technology experts and unleash their creativity.
This experience helps students to bridge the school-work skills gap. And there is indeed a gap, one which prevents students from finding careers in tech after graduation. Likewise, tech companies are faced with a shortage of talent with the skills they need.
How tech companies deal with these kinds of talent issues will not only affect their bottom lines, but also how quickly our global society is able to fully move into the digital age.
New tech is making it harder to find work
In recent years, technology has grown by leaps and bounds, featuring innovations such as smartphones, self-driving cars and global telecommunication networks. Technology lets us do more, connect more and enjoy more. It would therefore be natural to assume the benefits of these advances would transfer into the workplace, especially to new graduates.
Sadly, this is not the case. The constantly evolving technological landscape has created a profound sense of uncertainly among today’s youth, many of whom believe their current jobs may soon disappear. The skills many companies now require are not being taught in schools today. This leads to students being unable to find good careers after graduation and companies being unable to find the skilled talent they need.
Students want to be inspired
Clearly, today’s educational model cannot meet the needs of the new digital economy. We need to not only revamp the skills being taught, but also the way they are being taught. Students worldwide no longer have difficulties obtaining data; they have the internet at their fingertips 24/7. However, what they often do lack is motivation and an understanding of how to translate their interests and skills to the job market.
One answer seems rather simple: students and companies should be connected earlier, while students are still in school. Through training and mentoring, tech companies can lay the groundwork to ensure the next generation enters the workforce with the skills companies need. Likewise, students can gain useful experience early and gain a clearer understanding of what they want to do in life.
This idea hearkens back to the age of apprenticeships, when young people would be paired to a craftsman to learn a specific trade. There’s no reason why this practice can’t be re-imagined for the 21st century, but this time focusing on tech and implemented on a much larger scale. Combining our existing educational system with practical, intensive training programs can solve the problems both students and companies face.
Companies must take the lead
Intensive and innovative training programs already exist in one form or another, often spearheaded by top companies such as Google and Facebook. These programs allow students to gain hands-on experience as early as high school. And while they do a great job giving students much-needed experience for careers in tech, there are currently far too few – an ad hoc solution to a long-term problem.
In addition, these programs are only available to a select few, those with enough money or smarts to be included. They can no longer be the exception; they must become the rule. We therefore need companies to step up and take on a larger role. To solve current and future employment shortages in tech, we cannot continue to view the problems of students, companies and society as separate, but rather as a connected whole.
In the end, if no action is taken everyone will lose. New graduates will be unable to find suitable careers in their target fields. Tech companies will be unable to find the talent they need in order to grow. And when companies fail to grow, society will likewise suffer.
Thanks for reading. I'm interested in hearing whether you agree or disagree, and how you would go about ensuring all young people, not simply the smartest and most privileged, are prepared effectively for new careers in the digital economy.
