Employers increasingly view critical thinking and problem-solving skills as assets in their employees, as these skills are what give businesses a competitive edge and establish them within a global context enabling every person to participate in global citizenship.
As the world becomes more technologically advanced and information becomes much faster, the need for education grows with each passing generation. Critical thinking and problem-solving skills are more frequently and widely acknowledged as an essential component of all learning, a fundamental element of contemporary educational paradigms and approaches. In parallel with the work environment, these skills are considered crucial to business success.
Traditional forms of learning focused mainly on memory skills. Students were expected to accept the information given by their elders or acquired from books without processing this critically, and then recite this as closely as possible in exams.
Critical thinking and problem-solving skills are acquired abilities that need to be cultivated, exercised, and continuously incorporated into the curriculum. This is how students become participants in active learning.
Rather than following a top-down approach, students learn to analyse the issue at hand, assess and interpret it against other paradigms, and suggest possible solutions to tackle this. Students learn how to think analytically and critically, applying information creatively and differently to improve their lives while contributing to society, culture and civilization.
By actively employing critical thinking, learners become independent thinkers, moving away from preconceived notions and roles. Innovative problem-solving skills equip them better for the modern work environment and makes them more active citizens within their communities – which is fundamental to democracy.
Employers view critical thinking and problem-solving skills as assets in their employees, as these skills are what gives their business a competitive edge, while also establishing them within a global context. These are emerging 21st-century skills which will enable every person to participate in global citizenship.
In today’s work environment, critical thinking is one of the most sought-after skills. The World Economic Forum (2018) indicated that critical thinking skills ranked 2nd in a list of 10 of the most wanted and needed skills in the labour market of 2020, surpassed only by problem-solving.
This further corroborates the importance of teaching students critical thinking in schools from an early age. Once students learn to apply critical thinking and problem-solving within the controlled environment of the classroom, it becomes easier and more natural for them to employ these skills in various environments, thus becoming more productive resources.
Nowadays, employees need to excel in the 4 C’s to contribute positively to their organisation: critical thinking, collaboration, communication and creativity.
Critically thinking employees develop their own problem-solving decisions, justify them with arguments, discuss them with the team, and then implement them to improve the organisation’s performance.
However, it is easier to develop critical thinking skills in students and young graduates than in experienced workers, who might already be set in their ways. Older people might be more used to the traditional ways of doing things, therefore it would be more difficult for them to adapt to changes. However, it is still possible to train employees in their workplace, through mentoring, in-house job training, one-to-one coaching, job rotation and professional development, among others.
The current low correspondence between critical thinking and problem-solving skills in education and practical application is reflected in the existing wide skills mismatch in the labour market, which emphasizes the current gaps in policy, both in terms of education as well as employment.
Traditional educational approaches can no longer meet the educational needs of emergent societies if they do not teach, promote and assess in line with learner-oriented systems and contexts of 21st-century skills.
Shirley Zammit is ESG Lead at Corporate ID Group
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