Career progression

WATCH: 5 transferable skills employers expect you to have

May 3, 2021

A visual guide unpacking what transferable skills employers expect you to have, and how these skills can help you advance your career in Southeast Asia and beyond.

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Vocational education's value in a world where workforce skills matter more than ever

May 3, 2021
The task of forecasting what skills are required in the future is a challenging task for education experts. As advancements in technology and automation take place across global industries, the demand for refined, up-to-date skills are as important as ever for today’s workers.

According to Pearson commissioned research, there are seven megatrends that have been identified as the core variables that are set to fundamentally influence the future of employment, as well as the way we learn, teach, and apply knowledge by 2030. These megatrends are:
1. Technological change
2. Globalisation
3. Demographic change
4. Environmental sustainability
5. Urbanisation
6. Increasing inequality
7. Political uncertainty
By unpacking the requisite knowledge, skills, attitudes and values that learners need in the new world of work, it reveals three key areas to understand deeply in order to increase one’s employability:
- The technical, hands-on skills that one undertakes to do their set of tasks (hard skills)
- The ability to make the best, most efficient use of technology and understanding how to analyse, contextualise and interpret data (digital skills)
- The skills that combine people skills, communication skills, and areas involving critical thinking and problem solving (soft skills)
Learners who package together the aforementioned skill areas (hard, digital and soft skills) to build a well-rounded future skills repertoire – or otherwise referred to as workforce skills – set themselves up for success and increase their professional potential.

Is the academic route the be-all and end-all further education option?

Historically thought of as a fall-back course of action, vocational education is rising as a first, popular further education choice for today’s learners who either seek employment sooner or are taking an alternative route to university.

Simon Young, Pearson Asia’s BTEC Portfolio Manager, says that there has been a general tendency to focus on traditional, academic pathways and study as being the only option for learners to get to university. But, as Simon notes, not all university graduates are ready for the new world of work.
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Is English the world's language?

May 3, 2021

The world speaks English. It’s estimated that almost 2 billion people speak English across the globe, making English the largest language by number of speakers and the third largest language by number of native speakers. In addition to this, English is the world’s most studied language.

Given the fast-changing world of work, the soft skill of communication – the ability to collaborate effectively across cultures, borders and languages – is increasingly sought-after. Part of this skill is a confident grasp of English, which is now the dominant global medium of communication, says Simon Young, Pearson’s BTEC Portfolio Manager in Asia. Simon says now that supply chains and customer bases are truly global, multinationals have identified English language proficiency as a key skill.

“It seems that English has become a key skill for communicating in business in any role. So, in countries such as Thailand, where you might see a strong local workforce, the interaction with other divisions does require a strong ability to communicate in English. English has become the global communication medium.”

In addition to skills in demand for global businesses, governments in Thailand and Vietnam have crafted policies over the past decade that are built on targets to raise English language proficiency of workforce entrants.

These efforts help to attract increased investment into their economies – by mandating such policies, the Thai and Vietnamese governments see the value of language learning as global employers do, and that’s as a key ingredient for professional success.

As the world becomes ever-more connected and borders less important to global business, an increasing number of workers are seeing English as crucial to their career development – as many as nine in 10 global employees consider it important, according to Pearson research. Less than one in 10, however, feel that their English language ability is adequate for the role they have. This is a crucial skill gap to address given that English language proficiency is also key to honing a host of other soft skills, too.

Stuart Connor, Pearson Asia’s Qualifications & Assessment Director, notes that English language skills underpin many of the soft skill competencies that employers are looking for, especially as it relates to personal and social capabilities, such as collaboration, networking and empathy.

While employees see English language proficiency as key to career progression, Stuart says there’s work to be done – and benefits to be had – for the next wave of workers in terms of shoring up their English language skills.

"In a survey Pearson undertook in 2015 with 26,000 multinational employees, around 92% said they considered English as important to their career progression, yet only 7% believed they could communicate effectively in English at work, which is a significant gap.

“Language skills alone will not make someone employable, but someone is far more likely to be employable if they have language skills, as it supports the development of many of the other skills needed to be employable. When employers talk about soft skill gaps, such as communication and collaboration, having an additional language can be extremely helpful. If you’re Vietnamese or Thai, and if you can speak English, you are ticking a multitude of soft skill boxes, too.”
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PODCAST: Episode 10 — Future proofing your career and the value of employability

January 8, 2021

Welcome to episode 10 of the Art of Learning podcast.

We’re joined by Stuart Connor, Pearson Asia's Qualifications and Assessment Director, and Anisa Zulfiqar, Pearson Asia’s PCTA Business Development Manager, to discuss how learners can future proof their career, the importance of employability, and more.

We explore the definition of employability and why it has become such an important concept (1:18), the acute focus on employability in times of recession (3:14), whether learners lack the relevant skills to suit the modern economy (4:02), in-demand skills and how they evolve and transcend industries (7:01), how the pace of change in industry impacts future skills requirements (9:47), whether the COVID-19 pandemic has placed a greater emphasis on bridging the skills gap in Thailand and Vietnam (11:53), advice on how learners can future proof their careers (16:08), what Thai and Vietnamese educators can do to better prepare learners for the workforce (18:16), how a Pearson education provides learners with a competitive edge (20:38), plus more.
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Top 10 transferable skills for a career in the 21st century

January 8, 2021

In this infographic, we explore the most important transferable skills that global employers are seeking.

Discover the skills you need to increase your employability and enhance your career progression prospects.
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Career progression

WATCH: 5 transferable skills employers expect you to have

Vocational education's value in a world where workforce skills matter more than ever

Is English the world's language?

PODCAST: Episode 10 — Future proofing your career and the value of employability

Top 10 transferable skills for a career in the 21st century

Discover the knowledge and skills you need to build a better future by linking English language learning with assessment and qualifications.

Learn more