Changes in the technological paradigm mean that everything we have learned and what we are learning is becoming obsolete. Companies are demanding professional profiles that do not exist today or are in the process of being trained. To cope with this situation, and to avoid being left out of the labour market, professionals try to recycle themselves. It is precisely in this dynamic nature that the concept of 'learnability' is based.
But what exactly is 'learnability'? Experts define this term as "the curiosity and ability to learn new skills in order to remain employable in the long term". If we take into account that young people who finish their studies now will have to update their skills 10 to 14 times in their working life, and about 80% of young people will work in jobs that do not yet exist today, being able to learn new skills becomes essential at a professional level.
The origin of 'learning to learn
This is where 'learning to learn' becomes key, a concept promoted by Barbara OakleyProfessor of engineering at Oakland University whose work focuses on studying the relationship between neuroscience and social behaviour. This 'learning to learn' extends through all levels of education: from children who first set foot in school to adults who have taken this phrase as one of the maxims of their lives.
Santiago Castillo, professor at the Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED), supports Barbara Oakley's philosophy, stating that "the aim is for students to achieve the autonomy that allows them to learn on their own", adding that "children must be taught to navigate on their own". If we instil in children from an early age that they should make an effort in their daily lives, investigate the world around them and be curious, they will be able to adapt more easily to change when they grow up.
The Fourth Industrial Revolution and its impact
The Fourth Industrial Revolution has led to more and more people making learnability a priority in their lives, from the very young to senior professionals. Advances in Artificial Intelligence and machine learning are driving the automation of jobs, which means we are constantly having to deal with a new situation that we haven't experienced before. But this does not have to be a bad thing. In fact, we should look at the positive side of this change and see it as an opportunity to turn our careers around and move into other sectors that will be key in the coming years, sectors such as technology, which will be so necessary.
At IMMUNE, we offer you different studies, such as the degree in software engineeringThe online master's degree in cybersecurity or the online master's degree in data science, as well as numerous bootcamps.