Higher Ed: An Underutilized Ability Placement Network
I recently came across Michael Horn's Forbes article titled "Disruptive Innovation and Education," where he discusses how the current higher education system mirrors the factory employment model of the industrial age. It's not surprising that higher education institutions have had to adapt to changes in employment patterns.
I also listened to Brandon Busteed’s case for the “Educonomy” where he emphasizes that the market recognizes a college education as a pathway to securing a good job. This shouldn't come as a surprise either since learners (i.e., higher education's customers) are primarily focused on finding suitable opportunities to apply their acquired knowledge.
As a Global Career Development Facilitator and entrepreneur in the human services industry, I find it intriguing that both authors acknowledge the challenges facing higher education today but overlook the deeper critical problem within the industry. Michael highlights innovation, particularly online learning, while Brandon emphasizes the connection between education and long-term success in life and work. However, both seem to miss the fundamental assumption embedded in the higher education business model, which is that the value proposition should revolve around delivering high-quality learning to the masses. From my perspective, it shouldn't be the case.
Allow me to explain why placement quality should replace learning quality as the primary value proposition in higher education.
Firstly, by employing the job-to-be-done (JTBD) framework, we can identify the learner's JTBD as achieving placement quality or, as Busteed puts it, securing a good job. Education, in this context, becomes the learner's related job-to-be-done (rJTBD), which can be labeled as learning quality in support of addressing the learner's greatest pain point: finding the right-fit placement.
Considering the diverse market, if we prioritize learning quality as a key activity within a broader placement ecosystem, rather than as the central value proposition, we can lay the groundwork for innovative disruption. Higher education disruption will emerge from an innovative business model that leverages HR technology (#hrtech) to deliver a value proposition centered around placement quality rather than relying solely on educational technology (#edtech) to enhance learning quality.
Presently, higher education seems trapped in a legacy business model that stubbornly treats learning quality as the JTBD and, consequently, the value proposition. However, the great recession exposed the inherent flaw in this nonviable value proposition, and now we're witnessing the repercussions of this flawed business model. As the saying goes, "the chickens are coming home to roost."
Let me be clear: Learning quality in higher education is not a sustainable value proposition for serving the masses or those outside the elite circle. The time has come for placement quality to assume that role. It holds significant monetization potential and can better subsidize learning quality compared to any alternative.
In the forthcoming "talent wars," which will be fought both in the mainstream and the niche markets, we require business models that view higher education institutions as aggregators with distribution-capable nodes in a much larger network—the placement ecosystem. In my opinion, only then can we define learning quality in a way that aligns purpose (vocational guidance and life-design) with competency (career education and mastery learning) for the masses. We can reclaim the personalized academy experience from the pre-industrial age and make it accessible to all. However, accomplishing this demands a distributed solution to address our current failure: the lack of dedicated personal assistance in developing and placing abilities in suitable positions.
Once again, learning quality naturally aligns with the prevailing employment model. In the future, work will be performed by independent workers (freelancers, independent contractors, consultants, and solopreneurs) who are widely distributed across communities and industries. In fact, in 2013, independent workers accounted for 17.7 million individuals, and by 2018, that number had increased by 40% to reach 24 million. Currently, nearly 10 million households rely on independent work for at least half of their income. Based on existing trends, it is projected that there will be 65 to 70 million independent workers, comprising over 50% of the workforce, in the U.S. alone by 2022.
As a result, we are witnessing a shift towards distributing learning quality to the relevant edges of pedagogy. If leaders in higher education fail to adapt to a value proposition centered around placement quality, they will be remembered as the leaders of an ability placement network that was severely underutilized and missed a significant opportunity.
In conclusion, the need for higher education institutions to pivot their focus from learning quality to placement quality is paramount. By embracing innovative business models that leverage technology and view education as a component of a broader placement ecosystem, we can better serve the diverse needs of learners and ensure their successful integration into the evolving workforce. It is time for higher education to redefine its purpose, integrating vocational guidance, life-design, and competency-based education to provide a personalized, purpose-driven learning experience for the masses. Failure to do so will result in an education system that falls short of its potential and fails to meet the demands of the rapidly changing world of work.
