.jpg)
he illiterate of the future will not be the person who cannot read. It will be the person who does not know how to learn. - Alvin Toffler
Since the UN General Assembly proclaimed 24th January as the International Day of Education in 2018, this week has been a reminder of the importance education has for peace, development, equality and sustainability. Lifelong learning and the development of individuals and communities are essential to build sustainable and resilient societies.
In a world at grips with changing paradigms and a rapidly shifting focus on what it takes to be successful, where reskilling and upskilling are becoming the buzzwords of the present and future, it’s timely to take a beat on the week we celebrate “International Day of Education” and think about how we can best invest our time and our family’s time into the gift that keeps on giving.
In a world at grips with changing paradigms and a rapidly shifting focus on what it takes to be successful, where reskilling and upskilling are becoming the buzzwords of the present and future, it’s timely to take a beat on the week we celebrate “International Day of Education” and think about how we can best invest our time and our family’s time into the gift that keeps on giving.
Skills: more skills, new skills, better skills
Recent studies are showing that 29% of the skills presented in an average job posting in 2018 will be obsolete by 2022. That single fact, coupled with a 6.3% annual increase in the total number of skills required for any one job, makes it evident that reskilling and upskilling are priorities for any company at the moment. Focusing on flexible learning, critical skills-building and preparing the workforce for the future are important for HR teams, leadership and individual employees alike.
A good place to start is by taking advantage of one of the many online platforms that offer different kinds of skill development, which have made it easier than ever before to access knowledge.
A good place to start is by taking advantage of one of the many online platforms that offer different kinds of skill development, which have made it easier than ever before to access knowledge.
Here are a few examples to get you started:
By partnering with leading universities and companies, Coursera offers a wide range of flexible and affordable learning opportunities online which help both individuals and companies develop specific skills and career paths.
A massive open online course provider tailored to professionals and students, this platform provides more than 175.000 courses focused on improving job-related skills. Particularly focused on preparing professionals to adapt to a changing, more demanding working world, the courses are specific and many of them technical in nature.
Masterclass is an online education subscription platform based on the idea of “learning from the best”. The platform provides pre-recorded video lectures and tutorials from 100+ well-known experts (care to learn from Bill Clinton, Alicia Keys, Shonda Rhimes and Neil deGrasse Tyson?) in 9 categories. This is not where you go to learn how to code, though.
edX opens the classroom through online learning, bringing to people worldwide opportunities that had been reserved for some. With over 3K courses in areas that are especially relevant for the moment and 160 member universities, it hosts a learning environment which mixes video content with infographics and interactive content.
Focusing on a myriad of creative skills as well as practical ones that benefit the creative professional community (freelancing, for example), Skillshare is an “online learning community”, where members can learn different skills, teach them and connect to other people in the same space.
Also very specific to career and professional development, Udacity focuses on partnering with leading technology companies to help develop careers by teaching the tech skills that today’s workforce needs through a flexible digital education platform.
The “largest community for creatives”, domestika offers practical courses in creative skills and the added bonus of belonging to their community and being able to contact outstanding professionals in the skill you want to develop.
You can pay for most of these courses using your Coverflex benefits balance or by managing your Professional Training expenses through your app.
If you want to take your career development to the next level, enrolling in executive-only programs that can take you further is also a great idea. Our exclusive partnership with NOVA SBE makes it easier for you to invest in furthering your education in a top-rated environment, with 12% off, adding to the fiscal benefits of your “Education expenses” benefit or submitting it through “Professional Training” expenses.
A different vision of life
Although AI translation has had a real push forward during the last decade or so, nothing can top the real deal in learning a new language. It’s not only about the language itself, understanding others and making ourselves understood, but the fact that learning a different language is like a portal into another culture and vision of life, as Fellini would say. A few suggestions of different ways to learn new languages:
Speak is a community of people learning and teaching different languages in an informal environment of practical examples and real life situations. It fosters the creation of bonds between people, helping newcomers meet locals in cities, while sharing cultures and experiences. (The plus: Coverflex has an exclusive partnership with Speak!)
Learning at your own pace and wherever you are, in bite-sized lessons is what Duolingo facilitates. Through an app and a website, you can learn over 30 languages on the go, with a few minutes every day.
If your focus is in improving your familiarity with the so-called “World Language”, you’re safe to bet on the time-tested British Council, which has been helping people learn the English language and know more about its culture since 1934. It doesn’t hurt that they are our partners, too!
The same thing applies to the expense in learning a new language: you can use your benefits balance to pay for it through “Education expenses” anytime.
Preparing the future
There’s no doubt that investing in the future of any society and culture resides in our ability to foster learning opportunities for the next generation and prepare them for their future.
Whether it’s using Coverflex Childcare to pay for your kids’ school or taking advantage of “Education expenses” to take care of the bill of different complementary learning courses, we like to think we’re trying to make it easier for people to have access to opportunities they would otherwise have a harder time getting.
Another way we do this is by partnering with institutions who are teaching kids some of the languages of the future through programming and coding: Happy Code, Sharkcoders and Tynker, which are all tailored to kids from 5 to 18 years old.
Coverflex is a firm believer in everything that keeps us learning and developing throughout our lives — proven by the different ways our product makes it easy for you to manage your Professional Training expenses and invest your benefits budgets in your continuous education and your family’s through Coverflex Childcare and Education expenses.
“An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.” - Benjamin Franklin
It’s January and there is still time to make a New Year’s resolution that really pays off: take time to learn something new, improve on something you already know and keep investing in your family members’ futures through education. If there is a more worthy resolution, we sure haven’t heard of it yet.
