If universities do not adapt, employers will “do it themselves!”

If universities do not adapt, employers will “do it themselves!”

Few people genuinely want to see the decline of higher education. Universities remain central to research, civic life, social mobility and the development of deep intellectual capability. But goodwill alone will not protect the sector. A more pressing question now sits beneath debating about employability and skills shortages. If universities do not future proof their offers through deeper and more credible partnerships with employers and industry, what exactly prevents employers from educating and training people themselves?

This question was foreshadowed in recent analyses of shifting global labour markets and the role of higher education. In University World News I argued that universities have been slow to adjust to changes in employer expectations and the integration of skills, experience and adaptability into graduate outcomes and that this misalignment threatens the traditional social compact around degrees. I also noted the rise of alternative pathways and hybrid entry models that blur the lines between work and education underscoring the need for universities to reinvent how they work with industry if they are to remain relevant as gateways to opportunity.