When I talk about TRANSIT in my private life, I am often asked which technical skills we absolutely have to learn in order not to be left behind in the future labour market. For example, someone recently asked me for an assessment of how a company in the IT sector can succeed in ensuring that its employees can keep up with the rapid technological progress and keep learning new tools.
In such discussions, I often try to bring in that such questions are indeed important, but the working world is hardly just about gathering as much professional expertise as possible and always being familiar with the latest tools.
Adults as citizens
On this topic, I read an enlightening interview with Marcella Milana, the Chair of the European Society for Research on the Education of Adults (ESREA) in the ELM Magazine. It sheds light on why teaching subject-specific skills in adult education is not enough. Milania says: «We should move away from the idea that they are merely people executing tasks. The individual is much more than that: adults are citizens.» To her, this means that while vocational skills can help with finding a job, it is life skills that allow people to make conscious decisions.
Problem solving and civic responsibilities
It is precisely this thought that leads to my conviction that vocational skills are important but they are not enough on their own. Adult education has the important task of challenging people to engage with themselves and their environment. This engagement does concern much more than changing vocation-specific skills, especially in the labour market.
Adults are increasingly involved in decision-making processes. They have to understand complex problems and create solutions. This requires cognitive, social and personal skills and not just vocation-specific skills. Employees are also involved in social relationships and have civic responsibilities.
It seems more important to me that individuals in the labour market, for example, reflect on their values, think critically and act emotionally intelligently than that they know exactly how the latest IT tool works. Milania formulates this idea as follows: «The real problem is when vocational skills are interpreted in a reductive way, and consideration is not given to the fact that allowing adults to cognitively develop is a fundamental matter for the society. »