Results 1 to 4 of 4

Thread: Adults are struggling to learn 21st-century skills

  1. #1
    MyGaming Journalist
    Join Date
    Mar 2016
    Location
    Joburg
    Posts
    3,945

    Default Adults are struggling to learn 21st-century skills

    Adults are struggling to learn 21st-century skills

    Why you may need to go back to school to stay relevant.

  2. #2
    oltman's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2010
    Location
    Ballito
    Posts
    1,362

    Default

    I think a lot of this will be overcome when schools teach people how to learn. Learning 101 or something. This will enable adults to teach themselves when they grow up. Have not run a class in almost 20 years and still learn new things nearly every day. The internet is a wealth of information that you can pick up and learn IF you know how to learn. It sounds silly, but it is what I believe.

    Also, another factor is employers demanding degrees over skills? Maybe slightly off topic, but I will employ someone with hands-on experience much easier than someone with a piece of paper in his hand. Sadly a lot of corporates still demand the paper for employees to stay relevant.

  3. #3
    PsychoFish's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2011
    Location
    Under da sea
    Posts
    4,100

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by oltman View Post
    I think a lot of this will be overcome when schools teach people how to learn. Learning 101 or something. This will enable adults to teach themselves when they grow up. Have not run a class in almost 20 years and still learn new things nearly every day. The internet is a wealth of information that you can pick up and learn IF you know how to learn. It sounds silly, but it is what I believe.

    Also, another factor is employers demanding degrees over skills? Maybe slightly off topic, but I will employ someone with hands-on experience much easier than someone with a piece of paper in his hand. Sadly a lot of corporates still demand the paper for employees to stay relevant.
    Unfortunately most education systems rely on remembering a lot of facts rather than teaching techniques to evaluate, analyze and solve problems. The only real subjects that rely on actual learning is Math and Science. I regularly tell my colleagues and staff that I cannot teach them how to troubleshoot. The reality is that I can't, because you have to understand the source material and how these things interact with each other in order to start troubleshooting things.

    Getting back to the experience vs paperwork; For me it's a mix of both. Some certifications, diplomas and degrees are worth a bit more than others. For instance, if I want a junior developer I'd take a B.Sc. Computer Science or Information Systems degree, but someone with real world (3-5 years) worth of experience can do the job just as well. The parity between Degree and Experience closes significantly past the 5 years experience mark.

    When it comes to industry certifications though, I would never employ a MCSA/MCSE without experience as the exams are just way too simple and braindumps are available everywhere. These certifications rely on the candidate to memorize terms/problems/etc and does not test actual proficiency in the products. RHCSA/RHCSE on the other hand i'd employ without any experience whatsoever, the difference is that it's not a monkey puzzle exam and it's just a practical two hour exam with a bunch of objectives. If you don't know how to do something you cannot pass the exam.

  4. #4
    oltman's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2010
    Location
    Ballito
    Posts
    1,362

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by PsychoFish View Post
    Getting back to the experience vs paperwork; For me it's a mix of both......
    Very true, I guess it depends on the situation and the time in a specific role. The 3-5 year experience level is actually a very good benchmark. Unless the applicant has had 3 - 5 jobs during the same time
    Last edited by oltman; 19-08-2016 at 06:53 PM.

Similar Threads

  1. In SA voting is meaningless: adults
    By James in forum Off Topic
    Replies: 2
    Last Post: 02-05-2014, 09:51 AM
  2. Photoshop 19th century style.
    By Tsar in forum Off Topic
    Replies: 3
    Last Post: 30-10-2013, 04:22 PM
  3. Learn 3D - with Learn 3D at rAge 2013
    By qornea in forum Gaming News Articles
    Replies: 0
    Last Post: 21-09-2013, 02:25 PM
  4. 21st-Century Shooters Are No Country for Old Men
    By tpex in forum Gaming Discussions
    Replies: 8
    Last Post: 11-02-2010, 08:00 AM
  5. Australian autorney general we are protecting adults as well
    By Stefan9 in forum Gaming Discussions
    Replies: 3
    Last Post: 12-10-2009, 09:34 PM

Tags for this Thread

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •