1. 21st Century Skills for the
21st Century Job Market
Dr. Steffen Sommer
Directeur Général
Collège Champittet
Lausanne

2. Learning Past and Future
Relative stability of Society
and Job Market
since the Industrial Revolution
1991
Total spending of all developed
countries on
technology surpasses their spending on
manufactured products.
Global focus changes
21st Century Skills for the 21st Century Job Market
STS

3. Industrial Age Economy (I)
montage
Assembly
fabrication
Production
Resource
extraction
extraction
marketing
Marketing
Distribution
distribution
Products/Services
Value chain in the industrial age
21st Century Skills for the 21st Century Job Market
STS

4. Knowledge Age Economy (II)
Knowledge
Expertise
Information
Marketing
Data
Services/Products
Knowledge Age Value Chain
21st Century Skills for the 21st Century Job Market
STS

5. The Job Market
Depends on the demands
of a more and
more globalised society
Permanent state of
flux
Rapid changes in society
Impact on education (preparation)
Impact on the future of job market (skills
required)
21st Century Skills for the 21st Century Job Market
STS

6. global citizens – global communicators – global Achievers

7. Responsibilities of Education
Main objective,
preparing students
for the world of work and civic life
New influences in
society lead to new
ways of learning
passive vs active
mono focus vs multi-focus
All at an elevated speed
21st Century Skills for the 21st Century Job Market
STS

8. 21st Century Demands on Schools
20th Century
Teacher-directed
Direct instruction
Knowledge
Content
Basic Skills
Facts and principles
Theory
Curriculum
Time-slotted
One-size-fits-all (learn for school)
Competitive
Text-based
Summative tests
21st Century
Learner-centered
Interactive exchange
Skills
Process
Applied Skills
Questions and Problems (PS)
Practice
Projects
On-demand
Personalised (learning for life)
Collaborative
Web-based
Formative evaluation

9. Creativity and Innovation
“Imagination is much more
important than knowledge.”
Albert Einstein

10. How useful is our knowledge?
Reading
Writing
Calculus
Up until 1991, the basic skills
Transferred by learning
subject
knowledge
Prepared for the 21st Century?
21st Century Skills for the 21st Century Job Market
STS

11. Required Skills
Critical thinking
Team-working
Interpersonal Skills
Problemsolving
Cultural awareness
and tolerance
Communication
Team
leadership
ICT
Competence
Media
Competence
Interpretation
and processing of
Self-confidence,
information
ready to adapt to regular
changes, etc

12. The 21st Century Leader
Employs a resonant
management style Is aware of his/her strengths and
weaknesses
Can motivate his/her team
Collaborates and shares
with his team
Is focused on
improvement an
progress
Communicates
positively and
cogently
Develops and adheres to his/her own style
21st Century Skills for the 21st Century Job Market
STS

13. Do not panic!
Our students already have these skills
All knowledge and skills acquired in a
traditional way are adaptable. We are the
best proof!
But we have undergone, knowingly or unwittingly,
a skills audit.
And adapted to the new challenges.
21st Century Skills for the 21st Century Job Market
STS

14. To be continued …
21st Century Skills for the 21st Century Job Market
STS