Video transcript: Leadership Exchange on New World. New Skills highlights

Transcript

On 21 July 2020, 60 diverse and engaged minds garhered virtually to start a powerful movement.

Leaders from across business, governmanet, higher education and the charity sector collaborated to make a difference.

The session began with a welcome from Kevin Ellis, Chairman and Senior Partner, PwC UK.

Keving Ellis: Thank you for taking the time to join today and commit to this programme. We all know that the growing mismatch between skills and jobs is a major problem. The pandemic has made it worse, putting pressure on jobs and limiting opportunities to train. Significant work is underway to tackle the problem, but a lot more still needs to be done. Our efforts have to continue, long after the immediate crisis, which is why I'm pleased to be speaking to leaders like you.

This was followed by a passionate speech from Carol Stubbings who leads our New World. New skill campaign for PwC globally. Carol outlines the scale of the challenge.

Carol Stubbings: We know the world of work has been rebalanced. We know the mix of skills and the perceived value of those skills is starting to change. And we know that this will have massive societal impacts. We really don't want to leave whole swades of society behind. But we can't protect every job and we have to change the narrative. As employers, as NGOs, as government, we have a responsibility to help the people in our communities.

And we also heard from Nadhim Zahawi MP, who stressed the urgent need for collaboration.

Nadhim Zahawi MP: I wanted to send you a message to say what a fantastic initiative I think this is. For some time, the gap has been growing between the skills people have and the skills people need to succeed in the new world we have created. This state of affairs has been magnified and accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic. It is in everyone's interest; individuals, organisations and of course governments, to try to close the gap around digital skills.

Two young apprentices shared their stories on why this issues is important to them personally and how business can help...

Lauren Alie: Programmes like degree apprenticeships should not be found by accident. While it's great that my school provided brilliant one on one support for students applying to university. I wish this same encouragement was given for other avenues. It's important that employers engage with young people to showcase the different post 18 options available to them. Advanced, higher and degree apprenticeships, gap years, training, vocational courses, online learning, even starting a business. Be present in the lives of school students, and you'll be remembered as a company that cares about their future.

And why an apprenticeship should be one of the most important options showcased to young people.

Jamilah Simpson: Reflecting back on my apprenticeship journey, there were highs and lows. But the highlights definitely outway the challenges. And when I look back on this I think about how fortunate I am to have so many different skills and experiences under my belt. And I'm only 20 years old. However, with that being said, I do still worry about the future of my career. I fear that not having a degree will always be a disadvantage when it comes to looking for a new job, or moving up in an organisation. Still to this day, having an apprenticeship qualification doesn't seem to hold the same value as a university degree. And we need to ask ourselves why. During an apprenticeship, you're gaining real life experience, and proving that you can practically apply everything that you're learning.

Euan Blair, Co-Founder and CEO of Whitehat, than called for the need for driving systematic change.

Euan Blair: Universities spend time attracting students by offering things they think they want to learn, but in isolation from what employers actually need. And that is so problematic when we are experiencing a labour market shock like nothing we've ever witnessed before. And so, it's incumbent on all of us to ensure that we're combining what people want to learn, with actually what employers need and what the future of work requires.

As well as for support from employers in bridging the opportunity gap.

Euan Blair: So we will leave a huge number of people behind - younger people, but also those at different stages in their careers, if we don't use this opportunity to drive systemic change within our education system. And particularly how employers react, how they hire and how they develop talent. Because talent is evenly distributed, but opportunity is not.

As a community, we talked about the ways we could work together today, tomorrow and in the future to address this issue.

Zina Hunt: How can we really create that burning platform so that the skills agenda is raised further up the scale of importance?

Jerry During: It's about engaging with the future. Some of these young people that you want to be able to skill up to achieve some of the new objectives and new roles we're trying to find within our organisations.

Matt Hyde: There's a massive strategic opportunity here to ensure we have a more diverse and inclusive workforce.

Finally, we heard from futurist Gerd Leonhard on what the future holds for the world of work...

Gerd Leonhard: We're moving into a future where technology is converging with humanity. You work like a robot, you act like a robot, you're going to be replaced by a robot. That's the future of work. We have to become great at being human. I think human meaning consciousness. Human agency goes way beyond data and rational information. So that's our ticket for the future of work. To understand technology, to use technology, but to be great at being human.

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