2015 was filled with higher education buzzwords including big data, the Internet of Things, native advertising and newsjacking. I predict that 2016 will see a flurry of activity, conversations and promotion around ‘upskilling.’

As we become more accountable for outcomes and continuing education including master’s, graduate and certificate programs, a focus on ‘upping the skills’ people need to change careers or advance their current careers will become a topic of conversation.

Fifty years ago, the word ‘skill’ was only associated with trade schools. Many schools thought of themselves as places where students came to learn how to think, mature and prepare for the world after college. Like it or not, many of the things students were doing were actually related to gaining skills to succeed in their lives after college.

Due to the rise of new technology and the demand for training, new job skills, systems and ways of thinking, skills-focused academic programs are going to start showing up.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn leads the way with their skill endorsements. Not only can someone endorse me for specific skills, but I can also see what job applicants are good at based on peer endorsements of their skills. Skills are becoming a critical part of job descriptions and interview assessments and something major players like LinkedIn are working to define as a primary category for describing competencies.

A few questions to consider: how can you use the skills data on LinkedIn to paint a picture of what your graduates are good at? Can your career services team use these even more effectively as they help current students and alumni prepare resumes and market themselves to employers?

Job Trend Data

Burning Glass is a company that aggregates job data based on position listings over the past 10 years. They know not only which employer is requesting specific skills for jobs, but they also have specific data relating to skills that are important by positions.

http://burning-glass.com/

As you create new programs, write descriptions for courses and determine what programs might be most marketable in the future based on student need and employer demand, take a peek at this data to see how you can use national information to better inform your programs and the key takeaways that might be marketable for your students.

Programs

Skills are popping up in innovative programs across the U.S. American University in Washington DC recently started a Modular Master’s program. The program allows students to gain skills in a variety of modules from applied microeconomics to digital media. The most unique part of the program is that students can build the skills they need into their program, and the program utilizes courses and departments from across the university. It’s a unique way to take a philosophy focused on collaboration and utilizing university resources to provide students with a tremendously rich and beneficial degree based on skills they are interested in developing.

http://www.american.edu/spexs/news/introducing-modular-masters.cfm

A few questions to consider: are there specific programs on your campus that could collaborate to build skills students, alumni and employers desire?  Do you have research, data or information from a third party source or a current survey that would help you determine what skills are needed by your most important audiences?

Individuals throughout the U.S. will be ‘upskilling’ to make themselves more competitive in today’s job market. As we move into 2016, don’t be afraid to promote skills in program descriptions, class descriptions and in your approach to developing innovative ways to deliver what the marketplace needs.