By Muhammad Bilawal Kamran

The Future is Degreeless: Let us all Learn Skills!

A degree is also called an academic degree conferred by educational institutions for passing specific standards in different educational domains and expertise. Generally, a degree relates to several titles conferred by colleges and universities to indicate the completion of a particular study course or the extent of academic achievement. A degree marks specific standards of knowledge, skills, expertise and aptitude. Hence, the degrees express the collective and quantitative measures of a student’s skills. Historically, the degree has been a standard procedure to measure and translate the true talent of a student’s knowledge and skills worldwide. It is a token of acceptance for recognition in business, society and organizations. Then, there have been severe challenges to the authenticity and measurement standards of degrees worldwide.

What is skill? A skill is a learned ability to act with determined results with good execution, often within a given amount of time, energy, or both. Skills can be divided into domain-general and domain-specific skills. For example, in the work domain, some general skills include time management, teamwork and leadership, self-motivation and others. In contrast, domain-specific skills would be used only for a specific job. Skill usually requires certain environmental stimuli and situations to assess the level of skill being shown and used. Hence, the skill is the art of doing things appropriately with productive outcomes. Thus, skill is the end, and a degree is one of the means to achieve the end. Therefore, skill is far superior to a degree.https://republicpolicy.com/youth-wants-immigration-it-is-not-brain-drain-but/

A degree is an expression of the skills and talent of a student. However, there is always a gap between presentation and true talent. How better the institutions are in awarding degrees, degrees shall only manifest the talent up to specific skills. Then, the quality of institutions is always susceptible; therefore, the degrees shall not manifest the accurate skills of the educational grinding. Moreover, degrees are theoretical expressions, whereas skills are practical expressions. Life is a mixture of theory and practicality. However, jobs and businesses do relate to the practical realities of skills. It is a productive concern, and only skills can enhance the spirit and mode of business activities. In the modern world, the capitalistic business world requires skills, not degrees, and nothing is complaining about it.

Are skills not education? Skills are not only education but the outcomes of the experience of educational activities. Skills education bridges the gap between basic functioning and capabilities. It strengthens an individual’s ability to meet the present society’s needs and demands. It helps in dealing with the above issues to get desired behaviour practical. Therefore, skill education is vital to the necessities and markets of the modern world. Hence, business economies prefer skills to conventional schooling. Then, the degrees that do not reflect traditional learning can not sustain the significance of the skills in the modern world. Yes, degrees and skills are a winning combination in many job markets; however, skills are now gaining more preference over degrees in many job cultures. The trend is so prevalent now that many intelligent jobs require degreeless recruitment.https://republicpolicy.com/how-to-make-public-recruitment-efficient-detailed-analysis/

Degree and skill are two sides of the same coin. To succeed in the race of life, a person needs to have a degree along with the skill. A degree without a skill would be as unclogged as a skill without a degree. Both need to go hand-in-hand to be the survival of the fittest. The degree is the certified documentation of the skill awarded by the institution. Every person having the skill may need help to attain the degree.
Similarly, every degree holder may be someone other than a skilled person. The requirement of the degree or skill depends upon the organization, the nature of the post etc. Generally, which criteria carry more weightage – the degree or the skill? There is a direct correlation between education and income. The higher your degree level, the more money you make — generally. Many jobs — including highly technical six-figure jobs in places like Silicon Valley — prefer experience over education, and if you’ve got the background, the skills, and the smarts, you can get the job. If you’re feeling a little imposter syndrome when applying for these high-paying jobs, don’t forget that there are plenty of people who have found success without four-year degrees — think Steve Jobs, Tom Hanks, Bill Gates, James Cameron and Frank Lloyd Wright.
If you bring your unique skills and experience to the table, you can land these high-paying jobs without a degree.https://republicpolicy.com/youth-wants-immigration-it-is-not-brain-drain-but/

However, the situation in Pakistan is even worse. There are fake degrees. Fake degrees shall make an absolute mess in a market where degrees are already uncompetitive. Public recruitment in Pakistan requires degrees. Then, CSS is a degreeless examination, and even a bachelor can get through. Now, job providers have developed their examination standards and are not using degree-awarding institutions anymore. What are the flaws of degree-awarding institutions? The degree-awarding institutions need to be more transparent in Pakistan. Their syllabus and practical education must be updated and compatible with modern contingencies. Orientation of the degree should correlate to practical experiences than theocratical narratives. Hence, There is a need to enhance the quality of the degree. It is not appropriate at this time to finish the degree system. Yet, it must be revamped and close maximally to the quality standards. Then, skills are incorporated. However, the skills shall remain more potent and in demand in the future, even in Pakitan.

Consequently, all students must learn skills. Skills are the cultivation of education. A skill-less society shall never function. We need a mixture of skills and degrees, although the world is going degree less. We need to learn from the experience of the world. For example, if you do not have a degree in information technology, you can learn coding and become a software developer. You can still develop buildings and projects if you still need to possess an engineering degree. The best thing about learning is that you can learn it at any time; it depends on your imagination, creation and true talent. Hence, the youth of Pakistan must know the significance of skills. Let us all learn skills!https://republicpolicy.com/adb-approves-100m-loan-for-skills-training-in-pakistan/

The writer is an MBBS doctor.