Degrees will continue to have their place but employers are now keen on education and training that can have an immediate impactThe Leaving Cert may play a big part in determining how young people join the world of work but learning in the workplace is changing dramatically. Photograph: iStockis in full swing and for thousands of students this is a significant qualification that will play a big part in determining how they join the world of work.
Just how fast things are changing is reflected in one statistic from the latest dive into the future of lifelong learning by higher education consultants, Carrington Crisp, which works with third-level institutions around the world including TCD, UCC, University of Ulster and the Atlantic Technological University in Ireland.
“In the future, learning is more likely to be a ‘journey’ and not the destination it used to be when people more or less stopped education in their mid-20s. It’s likely to comprise a series of different qualifications from different providers across different platforms. While about three in 10 employers have supported employees to follow degree programmes in the last two years, the Carrington Crisp report shows that degree participation rates lag other forms of employee education such as industry-specific certifications, short non-degree programmes and customised courses.
“Degrees aren’t about to disappear but the diversity of qualifications is likely to grow. Everything from certificates of completion to digital badges, CPD and professional credentials will be part of the future qualifications landscape,” Crisp says.