Transformation in the skills market, including the rise of automation and digitisation, is creating a major societal problem in the mismatch between people and the right skills for available jobs. Providing assurance that training programs deliver people with the necessary skills is critical for economic prosperity, however our education and skills institutions struggle with the time and resources to keep up.
Formal qualifications, if designed with the target population in mind, are a proven mechanism for both motivating learners and providing a greater degree of assurance for employers that a qualification is genuinely matched to job needs. Governments have an opportunity to take the necessary policy steps to encourage a more systematic approach to upskilling that re-energises their national qualifications activities, as well as creating a more future-proofed skills market. Our research introduces the Skills Development System (SDS), based on systems used for trusted high-stakes jobs such as in medicine and security, and demonstrates how it can train learners more efficiently and effectively and keep them up to date.
When adopting the right model and methodologies, upskilling is a cost effective and auditable process that will ensure employers, educators and learners have the optimal skills at their fingertips that are fit for purpose today, and well into the future.