Education and professional learning are shifting due to numerous factors, from the accelerated pace of change which requires accelerated learning, to the topics we perceive as valuable for the future.
At work, a learning mindset is essential for the future
If you don't already consider yourself a “lifelong learner,” you might want to reconsider. By 2025, the World Economic Forum predicts over half of employees will need significant reskilling or upskilling. In fact, LinkedIn's 2023 Workplace Learning Report found that 83% of organizations have an increased focus on employee upskilling and reskilling, responding to evolving job markets and AI's impact. What's more, McKinsey Global Institute suggests skills acquired today have a half life of only 5 years (2.5 for tech skills).
Universities are offering more professional learning
Between rising tuition costs that are changing the perception of college degrees' value (a Pew Research study found nearly half of Americans now believe a degree is less important for landing a well-paying job — trade school are also seeing growth) and an impending 15% decline in students between 2025 and 2030 due to decreased population due to the 2008 economic crisis, universities are seeking new revenue streams—and professional development is one of them. While much on-the-job training happens through microlearning, universities are increasing their professional development offerings, seeing partnership growth with corporations of 20% over the past five years.
We’re witnessing a humanities and soft skills revival
While AI has increased demand for technical skills, soft skills are also rising in importance. This trend is emerging at the university level too. Case in point: The provost at École Polytechnique, which produces 57% of France's AI startup founders, told Fortune that alongside STEM, they strongly emphasize foreign languages, sports, humanities, social sciences, arts, and literature. In the workplace, companies are increasingly incorporating soft skills into professional development programs. A 2023 LinkedIn Learning report found that 94% of business leaders consider soft skills to be equally or more important than technical skills. The World Economic Forum's Future of Jobs Report (2020) highlighted that skills such as emotional intelligence, leadership, and social influence will be in high demand by 2025.
What does it mean?
Adopting a robust learning mindset will only help you in your professional career—and that’s true for both technical and soft skills. You'll start to see this blend of skills in your youngest colleagues, who will more likely be educated in new ways. For example, we’re witnessing emerging majors and approaches to education that bridge the gap between humanities and technology, like Stanford's Symbolic Systems Program, MIT's Comparative Media Studies and Berkeley’s Center for New Media. (As someone with a masters in media studies, I could not be more delighted. We need to better understand the intersection of technology and humanity—it’s critical to every job.)
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