3 sad reasons why the Education Driven Singapore is doomed

Gee, i'm old.

I'm 25 this year, and fast approaching 26, it seems, with 2016 rounding up soon.

Time seems to be like water this year, with huge events like the passing of Mr Lee (bless him), Mr Nathan, and our PM having a mild "unsteady" moment on stage (but seriously, what do you mean by "unsteady" moment, @channelnewsasia? I'm sure if anything is unsteady, it's your journalism, sometimes.)

But, I digress.

With the passing of so many greats of our country, it begs the question: who is there to take over during this changing of the guard?

And I'm not just talking about our leaders: I'm talking about you, your company, and our civil service.

Meet the millennials.

Source:

Note: I know there are a few non-millenials in the picture :)

A bunch of puffed up, #YOLOed up youth influenced so massively with the idea of individualism, selfie-ism, entrepreneurial-passion-give-up-your-job-ism, tasked with the challenge of taking over the reins of our country, and of your company.

There are 1.2 million millennials in Singapore today, which constitute 22 per cent of resident population. They are also the largest generation in the Singapore workforce. - The Straits Times

Shocker.

Over the recent years, there have been questions raised from all sides on whether millennials have the drive, tenacity, or the capability to manage resources that require serious thought, practical experience, and more than just book smarts.

These are my opinions:

• As a person who's been through the entire "education system" that Singapore has to offer, of course with the exception of professorship, I would say: no.
• As a millennial myself, I would say: no.
• As someone who grew up with millennials, I would say: no.

In this article, I shall outline 3 simple reasons (sad ones) why our new workforce faces an insurmountable challenge entering an old system, why companies are struggling to figure out how to engage millennials, and also, talk about why there is a misfit.

Reason #1: Education in Singapore is king - but that's a problem

Singapore has always been world renowned for our education system, and for good sense. The Education system has served us well in the Industrial and the Manufacturing era.

It's common sense that the brightest in theory would be in demand in a time of machines, mechanics, pure grit and hard work.

Education is king when the tasks we perform are mechanical, routine, and repetitive. That is what Industrial and Manufacturing is all about.

But in the last 20 years, we've entered the Technology era; a sector that suddenly connected anything to everything.

Information has become widely available and widespread - we used to only be able to find out how to do a marketing plan if we went to college.

Now, it just takes 0.65 seconds to find out 14 million ways how.

The truth of the matter is - our education system might be advanced, and be one of the top education systems in the world, but technology has curtly redefined the name of the game.

The challenge today is no longer about how well you can memorise a text book, because information will always be at your fingertips.

The uphill challenge here is what you do with that information.

This brings me to my next point.

Reason #2: Lack of practical skills.

As I was on the way home last Thursday, I overheard a mother talking to her son on the importance of getting a good job:

You must study hard, and outdo all your friends! Else it will be hard for you to get a good job next time. You must get to the local University, and not just stop at Poly or JC!

I couldn't bear myself to tell her that the Singapore of the future will no longer place education as the main factor of assessing a candidate.

Like i've mentioned before, it is what we do with the information that counts.

Our education, and especially the way we were brought up by our families dictated that the textbook was the Holy Grail of our careers, when taking that textbook and applying them in real life, not case studies, was the real challenge, and the real differentiating factor of talent today.

Our emphasis on theoretical knowledge has extended to severe dis-functionalities in business, management, policies, and even the way we run our lives.

It has created a bubble for the millennials, if you will, of how they perceive their world to be like hypothetically, but often times face huge disappointment when reality hits back.

Often times, you hear of how "lowly educated" people did not get far in education, but nevertheless got tremendous success with their lives.

That is not by chance.

Instead, it is because they spent their time honing key skills that employers of the future must look at: street smartness, no nonsense, and a general ability of common sense.

Put them together with technology and immediately, companies who invest in this group of people will be all the wiser.

Focusing on formulas, powerpoint presentations and handwritten examinations (seriously) is no good indicator of talent, and it has no place in the Singapore of the future.

Reason #3: Convenience leads to giving up

Singapore is the 4th largest consumer of Mobile commerce, as i've mentioned in my previous post on Retail sales failure.

Source:

Everything that we demand, we Uber, Grab or Honestbee.

We snub our noses at inefficiency, when MRTs break down (sorry, I just had to say this), and when things are not there when we want it.

This is a huge problem.

The connectivity to things has made us dull, and unsatisfied with the way things are. Just as that favourite song that I want to listen to, where I can #iTunes it, #Youtube it, #Vimeo it,

millennials want success on demand.

Truth is, success at the workplace doesn't come in a year or two. It comes after years of hard work, results, and pure hustle.

I've been at the entrepreneurship game for 5 years now and I don't even consider myself to be mildly successful - yet.

60% of Millenials are open to exploring a new job opportunity - Gallup

Perhaps this is the reason why Singapore millennials, and millennials worldwide are job hopping at scale - because in the face of a challenging environment, the bubble mindset and the convenience effect kicks in - we think we can get a better deal elsewhere, and so we leave.

Conclusion

It will be a sad day and moment for Singapore when we realise that our education system was all along a double edged sword.

If we fail to make education relevant to the world today, the world will simply cast us aside one day, and refuse to invest in our main resource - human capital.

If we do not change this deep rooted mentality that memorising anything is as good as gaining nothing of true market value, we are doomed.

What then, do we have to offer, to keep our economy a vibrant, sustainable, and prosperous one?