The study referenced in the linked post, which analyzes 11 million job advertisements from 2018 to 2024, highlights a growing corporate preference for skills over academic degrees. In this context, it is relevant to mention the recent book Who Needs College Anymore? Imagining a Future Where Degrees Won’t Matter, authored by a Harvard University researcher and founder of an Educational Design Laboratory, who advocates for skills-based education, career training, and market-driven credentials. https://hep.gse.harvard.edu/9781682539521/who-needs-college-anymore/
Regardless of corporate hiring trends and the time it may take for such a paradigm shift to materialize, it is crucial to recall the insightful and bold assertion made by the Chief Scientific Advisor to the Australian Government. He unequivocally stated that "Producing job-ready graduates isn’t universities’ job.” https://pacheco-torgal.blogspot.com/2020/01/the-university-of-future.html
Declaration of competing interests - If, as Fuller suggested, technology can sustain society with minimal labor, the real issue shifts from production to fair distribution. The question then becomes whether societies can transcend their work-based identity and redefine human purpose beyond employment. https://pacheco-torgal.blogspot.com/2020/02/university-mission-in-jobless-future.html
PS - To provide further context on my own stance, I include below a brief excerpt from a document I prepared in 2017 for an international application. This text was later partially reproduced in my blog in 2019: "...Initially established in medieval times with the noble mission to pursue a "triadic structure of human engagement with the world", Truth (Academic Inquiry and Knowledge), Good (Ethics and Morality), and Beauty (Aesthetics and Culture), universities underwent a gradual evolution towards a more utilitarian purpose over time. While some managed to strike a delicate balance between their original ideals and practical utility, many universities lost their way. Continuing down this misguided path poses the risk of universities deviating from their true essence, resembling neither genuine educational institutions nor corporations. In my vision, universities play a distinctive role in inspiring, instilling hope, and nurturing the development of sustainable citizens essential for constructing the envisioned Type One Civilization—a society characterized by multiculturalism, tolerance, and a steadfast commitment to scientific progress..." https://pacheco-torgal.blogspot.com/2019/10/the-role-of-academia-towards-type-1.html
