Getting a head start securing the careers of tomorrow

Universities and colleges must adapt their courses to take account of rapid change in the markets, driven by both technology and global events

The world of business as we know it has changed with Covid-19 altering the status quo. Just over a year ago, people were desperate to spend a Friday working from home, and many organisations did not regard growing their online presence as an immediate priority. This all changed at the drop of the hat and highlighted the importance of ensuring individuals can adapt at pace and have the skills required to pursue careers of the future.

With unemployment steadily rising, people want to make sure they undertake a degree that future proofs their employment prospects if they decide to go to university. As we press the reset button following the pandemic, we must educate tomorrow's leaders and allow them to develop skills that only a few years ago were unheard of.

A recent report from Tech Nation revealed that in the first three months of 2021, the tech sector brought £5.8 billion in investment into the UK's economy. With technology providing many of the solutions to help overcome the problems the pandemic has created, it's likely the amount of investment into the sector will only increase. To achieve this, we need a strong talent pipeline. Universities will be key to enabling this, and this is why we have prioritised degree courses in the fields of artificial intelligence and robotics, cyber security and augmented and virtual reality at Staffordshire University.

It's also important to make sure that existing fields of study are given a modern twist. Whilst business management, accounting and finance and marketing are all essential for any good business leader to have a grasp on, we need to ensure these courses are innovative enough to teach students the skills they require for the job market of the future. For example, adapting a Business Management course to focus on sustainability is essential to give a graduate a head start in standing out when hunting for employment, with the importance of sustainability and ethical business thankfully creeping its way up many organisation's priority lists.

Many new business sectors that were only born a few years ago are already worth billions of pounds

It isn't enough however to just upgrade all existing degrees to include these future skills as it will take more to futureproof the careers of young people. Therefore, it's important universities also focus on introducing completely new, concept degrees as well. Especially with many new business sectors that were only born a few years ago already worth billions of pounds.

For example, whilst virtual reality is not a new concept the number of job opportunities and future business creation opportunities in the sector has only grown as the technology improves and its applications expanded. With the pandemic prompting a recession, and many people, especially those under the age of 24 out of work, it's vitally important we provide people with the skills required to get into growing sectors like virtual reality.

We are doing exactly this through our Augmented and Virtual Realities course. It allows students to understand all design and technical processes involved in the creation of the ultimate immersive experiences and hyper realities, immediately opening the doors for students who wish to enter into sectors such as film and TV, games production and even more traditional business.

This is only one example, and cybersecurity is another vertical within the tech sector which is also currently getting a lot of attention. Cybersecurity specialists have been integral in the wake of the pandemic to provide people with the protection needed to live and work increasingly in the virtual sphere and often outside the secure office environment.

The UK's cybersecurity industry is now worth an estimated £8.3 billion according to a 2020 report from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, and with plenty of future jobs in the sector, it's key we give people the skills required to flourish in the industry.

Students must get the opportunity to learn cybersecurity skills in a real-life setting if they are going to stand out from the crowd at job interviews. At Staffordshire University, we are providing our students with real-world experiences for an industry that is still evolving through our self-contained laboratory, which has its own private internal network, and contains some of the latest equipment and software required to get a state-of-the-art education.

Esports has also established itself as a career of the future

As well as this, esports has also established itself as another career of the future, with the sector set to be worth £1.1 billion by 2023. With Fortnite competitions frequently hitting the headlines, it's important to spotlight that there are plenty of jobs available in the sector. There is a whole industry of technical, marketing and business-minded people fuelling the sector and bringing it to life. We must make sure we have talent with the skills to match to enable continued growth. We were the first University in the country to offer an Esports degree, and formal education within the sector will be a key ingredient to ensure it is able to continue to grow as an industry moving forwards.

It would also be wrong to focus purely on technical skills. design thinking and service design are critical to ensuring our graduates take a human-centric approach to their work - creating solutions and experiences for people rather than simply services and products.

Whilst we are not short of industries that will fuel the economy in the future, we are currently short of workforce capacity to ensure growth takes place at pace. As we recover from Covid-19, we are presented with the perfect opportunity to encourage young people to consider what type of job they want to pursue in the future, whether this is Esports or cybersecurity, as well as the skills they need to make their aspiration into a reality.

Andrew Proctor is the pro vice chancellor for digital at Staffordshire University