Report lists skills needed by the class of 2030
Today’s kindergartners are the class of 2030, and by the time they enter the workforce, it will look vastly
different. Occupations will need expertise, creativity, grit and, most importantly, people who can learn
and cultivate new skills.
But if we’re going to ensure the class of 2030 succeeds, a study, “Preparing the Class of 2030,”
suggests our current education system needs an overhaul and refreshed focus. The report from
Microsoft was based on surveys of 2,000 students and 2,000 teachers and was conducted with
McKinsey & Co.
The report outlines a number of factors contributing to the need to overhaul the education system. It
urges policymakers and educators to ensure the nation is preparing the class of 2030 and each class
after that for the future in a very different way:
- unprecedented opportunities for collaboration;
- the progressive automation of lower-skilled jobs;
- employers’ demands for workers with more well-rounded skills;
- students’ desire and expectation to operate with autonomy and choice.
In general, the study shows a need for a heightened focus on learners and more student-centric
learning. Key educational changes advised in the study include more focus on helping students develop
social-emotional skills, a shift to student-centered and personalized learning and adoption of existing
and emerging technologies.
In addition to the three areas of change, which are discussed in greater detail in the report, there are a
number of actions educators can take, big and small, to help the class of 2030 start off on the right foot:
- Teachers can collaborate with fellow educators to create or pilot programs addressing social emotional skills.
- School leaders can create the cultural climate for their school. Including staff in personalized learning experiences and identifying the social-emotional skills they want teachers to model in classrooms are two examples of setting the stage.
- Education system leaders will have to prioritize social-emotional skills and personalized learning approaches.