6 minute read
Skills
New report by Kingston University highlights
importance of skills for innovation in driving a thriving national economy
Calls for the establishment of a Future Skills Council bringing together industry, universities and policymakers to tackle the nation’s skills shortages and help the UK’s economy prosper have been made within a major report published by Kingston University.
The 2022 Future Skills report – the second phase of a campaign spearheaded by the University to address the workforce skills challenge – surveyed 2,000 businesses and 1,000 students on the skills most important to future careers and the economy. It found attracting and retaining talent in the global marketplace was the greatest threat to the nation’s economy, with Coca Cola, TikTok and Mastercard among leading firms sharing their views on what matters most in the graduates they recruit.
The report was launched during a House of Commons event attended by Government Ministers, MPs, peers, business leaders and Kingston staff and students. It proposes a roadmap for delivery, bringing together government, industry and education providers to create a new Future Skills Council, modelled on the Creative Industries Council. Co-chaired by Business and Education Ministers, it would focus on solving the workforce skills challenge, meeting future needs as well as supporting the Levelling Up agenda. What businesses said they needed in terms of graduate skills could not have been more emphatic, ViceChancellor Professor Steven Spier said. “The findings show just how quickly the world of work is changing, where future skills will be essential to the nation’s prosperity. There is a growing imperative to broaden higher education to ensure graduates keep learning and adapting to meet changing demands. What we’re doing in embedding future skills across our courses is proof higher education can pivot in this way and deliver what the economy needs.”
The study, commissioned by Kingston University in partnership with YouGov, follows on from a similar survey carried out last year. Building on those findings, the 2022 results show the ability Students with Skills Minister Alex Burghart at the House of Commons launch
Professor Spier speaks at the House of Commons Future Skills report launch to communicate, analyse, adapt, problem solve and think creatively remain the key skills leading businesses want from employees. Students also identified these as the attributes they most value.
The most pressing challenges the UK workforce faced in the medium term included a lack of ‘future-proofed’ skills, a lack of adoption of lifelong learning and keeping up with digital capability, according to the firms surveyed. The report also highlighted the key areas industry felt should be prioritised by the government – investing in a workforce that is both skilled and adaptable, developing the UK’s social infrastructure, and investment in research and development and innovation.
The report also called for a new model of higher education, building on the traditional degree to deliver future skills, as well as increasing the provision of lifelong learning. Alongside embedding skills for innovation across its curriculum, Kingston University is developing new metrics around employability as part of its new Town House Strategy.
Students with Skills Minister Alex Burghart at the House of Commons launch
Visit www.kingston.ac.uk/futureskills to find about more about the Future Skills campaign and download the report.
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