Serving Learners and Employers in a Skill-Based Economy

Skills Required is a new ebook to help your institution understand and adapt to the increasing focus on work-relevant skills in hiring decisions, public policy, and education. It acknowledges the challenges higher education is facing while also highlighting the opportunities created by a more skill-based approach to program decisions, marketing outreach, and employer engagement.

“Historically, higher education has talked in terms of degrees, GPAs, and CIP codes while employers are primarily interested in the skills an individual has and the work they can do.

By adopting the same skill-based approach already used by employers (and job seekers who want to work for them), higher education can better connect the education they provide to the rest of the modern learning-and-work ecosystem. This will help employers, educators, and lifelong learners communicate more effectively, make better decisions, and succeed, together.”

– From the introduction to Skills Required

In Skills Required, you’ll see how educators can leverage skills data to:

• Align academic programs with employer needs and learner demand

• Develop targeted microcredentials that teach in-demand skills

• Adapt degree programs to better meet the needs of today’s learners

• Highlight the relevance and value of your courses and programs

Throughout the ebook, you’ll get a guided-tour of current trends towards demand for skill-based education from learners, employers, and policy-makers. It also lays out a vision for adapting to these trends by skillifying curriculum so you can speak the new language of learning and work.

Click below to head over to the ebook page where you can read the foreword and download your copy!