Universities must respond swiftly to business demand

Business is showing signs of losing patience with universities and other traditional sources of talent and are actively considering the task of developing talent themselves, writes Nick Wailes for Australian Financial Review.

Internationally an increasing number of companies, including IBM, Google, Apple and EY, no longer require job applicants to have a university degree. Auspost recently announced the establishment of a tech academy, PwC has been experimenting with higher apprenticeships that bypass university and the Business Council of Australia is promoting a major rethink of post-secondary education funding.

All this is taking place at a time when Australian universities are producing more graduates than ever before. But to remain relevant universities need to transform their business models and rather than just focus on degrees, they need to shift to shorter micro-credentials and continuous just-in-time learning. They will also need to make greater use of technology to transform how they deliver learning.
Full report on the Australian Financial Review site