In education, one crucial aspect that deserves our attention is the non-technical skill gap. From around the age of 7, the most academically able children in areas of high deprivation start to underperform in comparison to their peers who are less academically able, but are from more affluent areas. This shows up in non-technical learning, too. We know that the development of cultural and social capital is equally as impactful on student's progress and progression, and that for those whose education has been affected by deprivation and disadvantage, this set of skills may not have developed in a way that is conducive to traditional education and progression.
By non-technical skills, I mean the skills which sit outside of - , but are just as important as the technical and vocational subject skills - those soft skills, wider skills or perhaps employability skills that apply to all learning regardless of the subject. It’s important to consider this in a 21st century skills context, too. More and more employers are telling us that they value and look for thinkers, confident communicators, problem solvers, leadership skills and resilient employees. We do wonderful things to help students develop these skills during their time in college, but what if the development of these skills became central to our work, rather than wrap-around or embedded - which they often are.
It's an issue that holds significant weight, particularly for individuals who face socio-economic disadvantages and have already met educational hurdles. Students may have developed these skills at a different pace compared to their more affluent peers, making the need to "level up" in non-technical areas even more critical.
