Maybe it is just me, coming from the more academic end of education in Norway, but it seems we do not have that strong an emphasis on actually getting palpable skills that we can use in a work situation. Going to the university in Norway, this aspect of education was very far back in the minds of myself and most of my study buddies. Hearing all the talk of skills here now, I kind of feel that I should have been much more aware of that during my study years. Wandering about in the corporate world, I do not feel that my skills are particularly marketable.Norway's got some very good financing schemes for education, and anyone that wants to can have any education they want - given that they fulfill the enrollment criteria. This easy access to getting the education you want leads many students to take into account their own interests more than what would be sure to lead to a job later. According to some numbers I read a while ago, Norway's got more than 200.000 students in higher education at any time. That is a pretty high number for such a small country.
There is of course nothing wrong with going into an education that interests you. There is much to be said in defense of that. But there is a limit to how many historians, sociologists and creative artists we can use. I think that if more young students really thought through their choice of education, we would have seen a change in what they do study. A lot of them would have chosen another type of education than going to the university altogether. Many of the students hanging around at the universities are there either because their buddies are there or because they really don't know what which education they want to get. Instead of wandering aimlessly around the university in search of some interesting lectures, it might have been better for many of those to choose an education that would get them some hard skills that could be put into use in actual work.
For myself, it's not so much that I regret going to the university as such. On the whole, I think that was the right choice for me. But if I would have started over and done it again, I would have kept much more focus on making my degree more marketable by choosing more carefully the subjects of which it is made up.
7 comments:
On the contrary, I believe that those that chose an academic education the world over would be in the same position as you. The dynamic in the work environment has changed and has become more skills focused. Particularly acquisition and retention are hot topics.
I still think Norway is ahead of the pack when one talks of tangible skills. The social system levels the playing field so much so that there is no status attached to work. As a result there is no shame in choosing a trade as opposed to a professorship as a profession.
Where I grew up, if you were not an academic there was no hope for you. I still see a continuation of this even today. Only those that could not possibly get into a university would take an education in a trade, like plumbing or carpentry. Needless to say, they also remained on the very bottom of the payscale. COmpletely unfair, as these are skills that are highly relevant. Ten carpenters are likely far more important than 10 creative artists in certain communities, as you rightly point out!
I would hope not to see a development here in Norway that is so academically focused that all else falls by the wayside. There might be a tendency towards that. Like you say, the accessibility to an education here makes the likelihood of this greater.
That is why, careers need to be taken a bit more seriously at secondary school level. A bit of proper guidance and counselling regarding various skills and careers out there as well as what projections are being made regarding future needs of the country and society would be imperative and prove resoundingly helpful in steering away from exactly the 'aimless student'.
Skills one is expected to attain in a work environment can for example be added to the university curriculum too!
We just have to have a little foresight is all!
Sevika
Very insightful comments as usual, Sevika.
It is true that there are very egalitarian attitudes towards university education versus vocational training. The status connected with having a university degree might be a bit higher, at least in some parts of the population, but compared with other countries the difference is maybe not that large. Also, money-wise, even if you do have a degree from a university, you will not necessarily make more money than someone who chose vocational training. In a lot of occasions, it will actually be those that earn more than the ones that got degrees.
This is in many ways right. It is, after all the carpenters and builders, roadworkers, drivers, factory workers, doctors and nurses, engineers, etc. that build our society and keep it going. The historians, sociologists and artists (although to a certain extent also very important) merely describe and reflect upoin the society in which we live without really making any great contribution to shaping it or building it. That being said, I should also point out that I am by no means saying that we do not need historians, sociologists, creative artists and the like, only that we might not need that many of them.
In the respect to this, we should not generalise too much - there are differences between different university studies. My comments was more related to the humanities branch of university studies, which are very popular in Norway and in many other countries. In the science area, students are learning more tangible skills that can be put to use. The skills and knowledge from this area can also drive innovation forward and make our country more competitive in the global knowledge based economy. This is an important aspect that I did not mention in my post, but which is very important.
hiya
just signed up and wanted to say hello while I read through the posts
hopefully this is just what im looking for looks like i have a lot to read.
Bonjour
I am new here and I just wanted to say hi!
Adios amigos
Shalom
I just wanted to say hi :)
Bonjour
It is my first time here. I just wanted to say hi!
pretty cool stuff here thank you!!!!!!!
Post a Comment