Skills, degrees, and global competencies - what's next?
Location: Tower Suite
In recent years, there has been an undeniable shift towards a focus on skills as employers globally continue to struggle with talent needs, including a growing movement to focus on skills-based hiring. Yet, it’s less than clear how exactly this is being implemented. While employers have removed degree requirements in favor of demonstration of skills in job postings, those whom they hire are still largely degree holders. At the same time, job postings for entry level jobs requiring multiple years of experience is not uncommon. For a student who’s studying full time to earn a degree, how can they gain the experience and demonstrate the skills they’ve acquired to get hired for these entry level jobs. How do things change when this shifts into a global context?
In this session, voices from higher education, industry, and skills assessment will share their perspectives on what global employers are really looking for, how higher education institutions are preparing students for shifting requirements, the importance of intercultural competencies, and the challenges & opportunities that exist for those with and without degrees to demonstrate critical, global employability skills.
Speakers:
Ben Wildavsky, Visiting Scholar, University of Virginia and Author of The Career Arts (Moderator)
Christine Archer, Global Head, Internship Experience Program, SAP
Rohit Sharma, SVP, Global Mobility Solutions, ETS
Roslyn Clark Artis, President, Benedict College
Developing Talent Elasticity in the Age of Generative AI, Global Mobility, and More!
Location: Room 2/3/4
With the rapid pace of change driven by technology in the last 20 years, there appears to be constant concerns about what the future of work will look like and what universities and employers need to do to develop the talent needed for today’s in-demand jobs. The latest driver of these conversations is generative AI. Yet, there’s so much more driving these concerns including new workplace norms, impact of climate change, and so on. At the same time, higher education institutions where young people are supposed to be prepared for the workplace are often very slow to change. In light of this, how do we shift the focus away from pure skill development to one which balances development of skills in demand now, but also the talent elasticity needed to fill future skills gaps.
In this session, a panel of voices from higher education, industry, and young professionals will discuss the implications of emerging trends on the future of work and the opportunities and challenges from their perspectives. The group will focus on the importance of work-integrated learning as part of a holistic model for developing talent for an uncertain future that is changing at an exponential rate.
Speakers:
Dave Fenton, Assistant Director, External RelationsDepartment of Management, University of Toronto (Moderator)
Shawn VanDerziel, CEO, NACE
Vicki O’Brien, Senior Lecturer, Liverpool John Moores University
Jane Hallett, Managing Director, Practera
Alternative Models for Access and Inclusion in Global Experiential Learning
Location: Room 5/6
Research from many sources have shown that both global experiences and internships have a significant impact on developing skills that are most valued by today’s global employers. Yet, these experiences also tend to be most out of reach for students from underrepresented backgrounds. Be it cost, time commitment, program design, or other barriers, traditional models of study abroad and global internships may be challenging for some students. In this session, speakers will share insights on some alternative models for global experiential learning that are helping to open up access in new ways to create opportunities for students who never dreamed they could go abroad or do an internship.
Speakers:
Laura Bielby, Student Opportunity and Experiential Learning Manager, Leeds Beckett University (Moderator)
Harry Spear, Co-Founder, Caribbean Elective
Jamie Bettles, Founder & Managing Director, Pagoda
Kyndall Cox, Director, Douglass-O'Connell Global Programs, CIEE