Global inequities in lifelong learning and childhood education, a pandemic that closed schools and workplaces, and rapid technological change are highlighting the need to double down on reskilling, upskilling, and the future of learning.
Investing in the skills of primary and secondary school learners could create an additional $266 billion for the Middle East economy by 2030, according to a new report unveiled at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
The Reskilling Revolution initiative, launched at the World Economic Forum’s 50th Annual Meeting in January 2020, has been working to provide 1 billion people across the globe with better education, skills, and economic opportunities by 2030, according to state-run news agency, Wam.
The project’s latest report titled Catalysing Education 4.0 Investing in the Future of Learning for a Human-Centric Recovery, which focuses on the impact of preparing today’s generation of school-age children, shows that improving collaborative problem-solving skills alone could contribute $2.54 trillion – over $3,000 per school-age child – to the global economy.
According to the report, investing broadly in the skills of the future for the next-generation workforce could add an additional $8.3 trillion in increased productivity to the global economy by 2030.
“In an era of multiple disruptions to the labour market – the pandemic, supply chain changes, the green transition, technological transformation – the one ‘no regret’ investment all governments and business can make is in education, reskilling and upskilling. It is the best pathway to expanding opportunity, enhancing social mobility and accelerating future growth,” said Saadia Zahidi, the managing director of the World Economic Forum.
The Reskilling Revolution
The Reskilling Revolution initiative – which is a coalition of 50 CEOs, 25 ministers, and 350 organisations committed to realising these gains for their economies, societies, and organisations – has marked two years of progress at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2022 in Davos.
At the heart of the initiative is a commitment from over 50 CEOs to inspire global business leadership on the upskilling, reskilling, and human capital investment agenda.
The Reskilling Revolution has mobilised a multistakeholder community of more than 350 organisations and has launched national-level country accelerators across 12 countries, including Bahrain, Bangladesh, Brazil, Cambodia, Georgia, Greece, India, Oman, Pakistan, South Africa, Turkey, and the UAE, with knowledge support from Denmark, Finland, Singapore, and Switzerland.
Two years into its work, the initiative will expand beyond adult reskilling and upskilling and integrate a focus on education for children and youth.
These efforts will be taken forward by a new Education 4.0 Alliance, bringing together 20 leading education organisations at the Forum’s Annual Meeting 2022.
To unlock this education transformation, the Education 4.0 initiative will focus on three key investment areas: new assessment mechanisms; adoption of new learning technologies; and empowerment of the teaching workforce.
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