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DellTechnologies.com/Perspectives
ly, this evolving career landscape will look like
as emerging technologies reconfigure some
industries and establish entirely new ones.
As innovations like artificial intelligence,
machine learning, and blockchain become embedded
within office IT and central to consumer
services, students, educators, and employers
alike are contemplating how to prepare for
a brave new workforce.
OLD-SCHOOL EDUCATION,
NEW OUTLOOK
Today’s education system is entrenched in
scores-based performance measuring and standardized
testing. That’s why Adam Garry, the
director of education strategy at Dell Technologies,
works with K-12 schools to improve not
just what kids learn, but also how they absorb
information. This includes promoting critical
thinking and problem-solving skills.
With the reality that 85 percent of jobs that
will exist in 2030 haven’t yet been created,
these types of skills will be invaluable assets
for career adaptability. Yet, throwing the oldschool
textbook out the window isn’t necessarily
the solution, says Garry. He suggests
a better way to set kids up for success is to
focus on comprehensive skill sets instead of
test scores.
“Of course, there has to be a knowledge-base;
you can’t think critically about
nothing,” he says. “But as of late, we’ve
started to focus more on what we call the
disposition, which is more about the culture
of learning.” Garry explains that the core elements
that make up disposition—things like
resilience and grit—are skills often coveted by
hiring managers.
Garry believes these credentials that go beyond
grades will also be important in the hiring
landscape of the future. “I think K-12 institutions
could really expand upon the picture that they
allow a student to leave the system with,” he
says. For example, if a kid is an incredible guitarist
or an expert e-sports gamer, that should be
quantifiable and highlighted on a resume.
A skills-based approach may also impact
how students complete higher ed. Garry thinks
that kids may one day be more fluid in the
education system, going to university for a
couple of years to learn in chunks, entering the
workforce to practice skills in action, and then
returning to school later to fill in the gaps.
As debates about the rising cost of higher
education and the ultimate value of a fouryear
degree continue to brew, Gen Z students
face complex decisions about their paths after
high school.
Tara Subramaniam, a junior in college, says
that she deliberated her higher-ed options
carefully: Alongside traditional four-year
universities, she also considered an edgier educational
experience like the Minerva program
through Keck Graduate Institute. At Minerva,
students complete studies in applied sciences
and/or liberal arts in cities all over the world.
The program eschews linear learning for broad
knowledge, practical skills, and intellectual
development across multiple disciplines.
Ultimately, Subramaniam ended up at
Georgetown University, where she’s now
working toward a degree in International
Politics and Economics. But, she notes, she’s
found ways to explore passion projects to get
the “non-traditional” experience in other ways,