London Summit 2015 - Bridging the Talent Divide: Demand-Driven Education for a Diverse Workforce (I)

Core Premise: The Future of Work and Responsibility

• The transition from education to employment is driven by four "mega-trends" of the Human Age: demographic shifts, technology adoption, individual choice in work arrangements, and client demand for productivity.
• A central debate exists regarding whose responsibility it is to reskill the workforce: the answer is a shared burden involving government, educators, businesses, and the individual.
• Demographic changes include a globally aging workforce and a shift from linear, predictable career trajectories to non-linear paths.
• Technology and automation are predicted to eliminate up to 50% of current roles within a 10-to-20-year horizon, necessitating a shift toward "liquid skills" and constant reskilling.
• Employers face a mismatch between the rapidly changing needs of the global marketplace and the lagging pace of traditional education systems.

Business Responsibilities and Adaptations

• EY (Nancy):
  • Recognizes a shortage of university graduates with relevant skills, prompting a shift to "experience organizations" rather than purely academic ones.
  • Initiated early engagement with students aged 12–14 to align career aspirations with educational choices.
  • Implemented a disciplined process ensuring employees gain "stretch assignments" and diverse experiences before promotion; promotion is blocked without these specific experiences.
  • Engages in "Open for Business" to promote LGBT rights globally, viewing diversity as a business imperative.
• GLG (Richard):
  • Advocates for "peer-to-peer learning" and open-source expertise networks as the future of professional training.
  • Emphasizes hiring for "hunger" and cultural fit over pedigree (e.g., Ivy League degrees), occasionally hiring candidates without college degrees if they demonstrate unique success.
  • Highlights the 70-20-10 learning model, arguing that 70% of professional development comes from critical on-the-job experiences.
• Manpower Group / Apollo Group (Daniela/Tim):
  • Identifies a critical gap: organizations fail to train managers on how to lead diverse teams, treating diversity management as a skill rather than an inherent trait.
  • Notes that diversity in the workforce has not translated to productivity due to a lack of training in managing differences.
  • Cites a Swiss financial institution example where requiring employees to re-apply for their jobs every four years disrupted complacency and fostered innovation.
• Client Education:
  • A major client (drilling equipment company) successfully challenged a refusal to accept a female engineer in Saudi Arabia by stating they would not serve the client without the best-qualified person, regardless of gender.

Educational Reforms and Institutional Roles

• BPP University (Tim):
  • Proposes "Degree Apprenticeships" where government sets infrastructure and employers define skill needs.
  • Implements two-year undergraduate degrees compressed around the business calendar (4 weeks off vs. 24) to reduce costs and accelerate workforce entry.
  • Shifts from academic-research-focused models to employer-driven curricula to ensure relevance.
• New York State University (Richard):
  • Mandates that no student can graduate without at least one "peer-to-peer" or applied learning experience.
  • Calls for an end to the cultural norm that four-year liberal arts degrees are the only dignified path for all students.
  • Highlights the failure of the US system where high school graduates are sent to college without being taught foundational skills like business writing.
• University Accountability:
  • Universities are increasingly measured by employment outcomes and average starting salaries due to student debt concerns.
  • Employers are beginning to hold universities accountable for diversity metrics (e.g., refusing to recruit from schools with 90% male cohorts).

Diversity, Gender, and Inclusion

• Barriers to Entry:
  • Traditional recruitment and employer value propositions often inadvertently exclude women, particularly in sectors like oil and gas and engineering.
  • Gender imbalances often deepen later in women's careers, particularly after the birth of a second child, due to structural family care burdens.
• Strategies for Improvement:
  • In Sweden: Gender-neutral sports in schools have normalized female participation in non-traditional activities, leading to high female representation in golf.
  • In the UK: The "Movement to Work" initiative aims to expose 100,000 young people to work experience in a gender-neutral manner.
  • Corporate Action: EY and others are creating internal mentorship and counseling programs for youth entrepreneurs to foster social and commercial innovation.
• Broadening the Definition:
  • Diversity must extend beyond protected characteristics to include cognitive diversity and the ability to work with extreme differences in thinking patterns to drive innovation.

Skills, Motivation, and the "Liquid" Workforce

• The 70-20-10 Rule:
  • 70% of learning comes from critical on-the-job experiences (P&L responsibility, stretch assignments).
  • 20% comes from relationships and connectivity.
  • 10% comes from formal training.
  • Employers often fail to value the 70%, leading to stagnation.
• Intangible Skills:
  • Emotional intelligence, self-awareness, and "being comfortable being uncomfortable" (a trait identified in military hires) are becoming critical differentiators alongside technical skills.
  • Soft skills like calligraphy, coding, and emotional conviction are in high demand as automation handles technical tasks.
• Youth Motivation:
  • Young workers prioritize meaningful work and inspiration over salary, correlating strongly with a desire for continuous skill acquisition.
  • Youth unemployment creates a "lost generation" that misses the critical 70% of experiential learning required for future employability.

Forward-Looking Statements and Predictions

• Lifelong Learning: The concept of a single career path is obsolete; individuals must adopt a "leisure learner" mindset to remain competitive over 30-year horizons.
• Education Models: There is a predicted shift toward shorter, certificate-based education and modular learning units rather than traditional four-year degrees.
• Cross-Functional Teams: Organizations must disintegrate siloed departments (e.g., creative vs. strategic) to foster cross-disciplinary innovation.
• Technology Limitations: Technology education alone is insufficient to solve youth unemployment; structural access and soft skills development are equally critical.
• Recruitment Shifts: Employers will increasingly prioritize "hunger," character, and specific experiences over academic pedigrees.