TC’s Henry Levin in US News | Teachers College Columbia University

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TC’s Henry Levin in US News: “Why Adaptability is Key for Tomorrow’s Workforce”

Henry Levin, William Heard Kilpatrick Professor of Economics and Education
Henry Levin, William Heard Kilpatrick Professor of Economics and Education
The latest in a series of op-eds by TC’s Henry Levin, William Heard Kilpatrick Professor of Economics and Education, argues that, if countries want to stay economically competitive, their workforce must adapt to fast-changing skills requirements for future jobs. Levin’s posting appeared on the Best Countries for Education site at USnews.com.

Citing the “Global Challenge Insight Report” recently released by the World Economic Forum, Levin writes that an estimated “two-thirds of children entering primary schools today will be working in jobs that do not yet exist. ...Given the enormous and unpredictable changes in specific job requirements that we are facing over a career of four or five decades, ...workers throughout the world must prepare for unforeseen change.” They will need skills that will prepare them for “broad and changing demands of jobs such as problem-solving, communication, group work and generalized understanding of technology and its applications,” Levin writes. “Changes in learning will be required at every educational level to accommodate the ability to adapt to new employment demands.”

Levin is an international expert in the economics of education and human resources, urban economics, education policy, and the application of benefit-cost analysis to education settings and tools. He is the founding co-director of the Center for Benefit-Cost Studies of Education at Teachers College, founder of TC’s National Center for the Study of Privatization in Education, and a professor in TC’s Department of Education Policy & Social Analysis.

Additional posts by Levin on USnews.com's Best Countries for Education site include: PISA 2015:  A Misleading Test? ; Worldwide, School Choice Hasn’t Improved Performance; and The Link Between Test Scores and Worker Productivity.

Published Tuesday, Aug 22, 2017