The Future of Work – New education models for extending the principle of dual education

How should educational systems and school-to-work transition (SWT) regimes be modeled to better serve the needs of Industry 4.0? Although a high level of general education will be important for its training content to develop adaptability, it is not the only component to develop. What will be increasingly important are the work-related skills.

This will require important educational reforms to favor an ever-better integration of educational institutions and the world of work, especially in the countries whose SWT regime is sequential (training after education) rather than dual (education together with training). Educational systems should learn to work with the world of business and thus collaborate with it. School and university rooms need no longer be the only places where human capital is generated. Firms should also become learning and training places again, as they used to be before the first industrial revolution.

The duality principle is the basis for a strong diversification of the supply of education. It should cross through the entire educational system, from high secondary school (work-related learning, vocational education and training, and apprenticeship) to bachelor degrees (professional universities for those who received vocational training, and high-level training or apprenticeships for university students) and post-graduate programs (master programs with on-the-job training, business incubators and training for self-employed and entrepreneurs, and industrial doctorates). In addition, life-long learning should be offered to help those who lose their job or wish to start a new occupation.

Chosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor. Read the whole story at New education models for the workforce of the future