Do universities of today prepare students for the workplace of tomorrow?
With degrees costing more than ever before and ever-evolving technologies changing the world of work, we recently asked our alumni community: do universities prepare students for the workplace?
29 November 2023
With degrees costing more than ever before and ever-evolving technologies changing the world of work, we recently asked our alumni community: do universities prepare students for the workplace?
The World Economic Forum reported that 85 million jobs could be eliminated within the next few years. But that number could be far outweighed by the estimated 97 million new roles created by emerging technology.
The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the digitisation of work across most sectors. A growing emphasis on technology adoption has led to new roles, but more importantly, has led to increasing digitalisation of all roles.
Following a lively debate hosted by our London Alumni Network, PwC and Debate Mate in November 2023, the resounding conclusion to the motion ‘do universities of today prepare students for the workplace of tomorrow?’ was ‘yes, they do’, demonstrated by the loudest clapping and feet stamping by the audience! This is to the credit of the panel – which included academics, current students and those working in industry.
Shaun Boyle, who is one of the Leads of our London Alumni Network, and helped facilitate this event with his employer PwC, said:
“It was so good to see many different generations and people from different backgrounds in the room. I had originally thought that perhaps universities do not prepare you for the workplace. However, the arguments put forward by the panel on the night were compelling and persuasive!”
But how are universities adapting to the changing needs of their students, and what more can be done?
To hear more, we caught up with alumni who were part of the debate: Professor Abigail Marks, Associate Dean of Research and Professor of the Future of Work at Newcastle University Business School (BSc Psychology, 1993), who was a panellist, and Chris Benarr, Director at Kings Gold London (BA Hons Politics, 2002), who was a guest at the event.
What are universities doing currently to prepare their students for the workplace?
“Universities are not perfect, but they have improved significantly in the past decade in terms of the focus on employability skills. Since the convergence of traditional universities with polytechnics and HE colleges in the early 1990s, students have greater flexibility in the way that they organise their degree in terms of subject choices, skills-based courses, volunteering and internships.
“We are also in a scenario where the majority of students have had to take on paid employment, and universities often rely on and develop the skills gained in work for group work, collaboration and high-level projects,” said Abigail.
And Chris agreed: “So many of the normal practices in a working environment are functionally essential to the way your degree works: you need timekeeping, punctuality, motivation, core office skills… and not least the grown-up personal responsibility and self-motivation to even shake off the hangover and get in on time!”
“The style of teaching, the interaction with faculty and classmates seems to have evolved with the times and technology since I was at university in the early 2000s, but the output is fundamentally the same: bright, articulate people with not only the curiosity to figure something out themselves but the skills to explain their work.”
“Not to mention the growing internationality of our student and staff populations,” added Abigail. “Universities are a great place to produce rounded global citizens. Around 22% of the total student population in the UK are international students, and 31.3% of academic staff have an international background.”
“Research shows that exposure to a broad mix of cultures increases students’ empathy and makes them more competent in their intercultural interactions. Importantly, this improves international business communication. The need to work and socialise with international colleagues serves as a valuable source of social, cultural, political, and economic knowledge. With increased cultural sensitivities and skills needed to work effectively with people from different backgrounds students have ‘a competitive advantage’ in the marketplace.”
The style of teaching, the interaction with faculty and classmates seems to have evolved with the times and technology since I was at university, but the output is fundamentally the same: bright, articulate people.
What does ‘the workplace of tomorrow’ look like?
“While there are many prophecies about robots stealing jobs, there is really no evidence that this is happening. It may be the case that some office-based entry level jobs are being replaced by computers and AI, however, there are higher level jobs that are being created due to the reliance on technology.
“Many career paths will endure, and some will require a greater labour force in the future: carers and nurses, for example, due to an ageing population; countryside and flood management and ecosystem development to manage the ongoing climate crisis; epidemiology to prepare us for the next pandemic,” Abigail told us.
Chris added, “this generation of graduates face the most hostile and dynamic working environment since perhaps the post-war period; where job specs are rapidly evolving, the workplace itself is going through immense change and jobs you train for might even disappear altogether.”
[Graduates] need to feel ready and confident to adapt and change if needed. We need to develop lifelong relationships with our graduates to support CPD.
What more can universities be doing?
“Graduates need a foundation of curiosity, adaptability and determination to get ahead in any career,” said Chris.
“AI is lauded and derided in equal measure, but is becoming an essential part of any business model. To work effectively, AI needs smart people to feed information to it, so any outputs or decisions made are sound, and to spot mistakes in AI learning. A solid foundation of comprehension skills, grammar and vocabulary can go a long way, no matter what happens in the future.”
Abigail added the importance of internship and placement opportunities too. “We need to educate young people about the realities of the workplace of the future,” she said. “They need to realise that robots won’t be taking over the world, that some jobs won’t change or disappear and that they need to feel ready and confident to adapt and change if needed.”
Thank you to all our participants
A huge thank you to the organisers of this special alumni event – the London Alumni Network, PwC and Debate Mate – our hosts, PwC Managing Partner Marco Amitrano and Newcastle University’s Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor Chris Day, our panellists (listed below) and to all who joined us on the night and contributed to the lively debate!
- Professor Abigail Marks, Associate Dean of Research and Professor of the Future of Work at Newcastle University Business School
- Adam Roble, President of the Oxford Union
- Caitroina McCusker, PwC Partner - Northern Ireland Regional Market Leader and Education Consulting Leader
- Heather Saville Gupta, Director of People and Culture at Britbox International
- Keanna Williams, Creative and Social Tech Entrepreneur
- Professor Ruth Valentine, Pro-Vice-Chancellor of Education at Newcastle University
If you’re interested in joining your fellow alumni in London at our next event, join the London Alumni Network’s LinkedIn group to hear about upcoming activities.
How your university can help you develop your career
The points raised during the live debate in London highlighted the ever evolving and vital role that higher education institutions play in developing future generations of workers.
Did you know? Whatever career stage you’re at, your university can support you take the next step with a wide range of CPD courses and webinars available.