The World Economic Forum predict that in 2030 the top five skills will be needed in the workplace: Judgement and decision making, Fluency of ideas, Active learning, Learning strategies, and Originality.
This list has changed a lot over the years and it will continue to change. Maybe rather than worrying too much about these ever-changing lists, though, we could summarise this as: ‘Every child should have an entrepreneurial skillset, whether or not they want to be an entrepreneur.’ This is something that we are passionate about at Harrow Hong Kong and is a key component in creating Leaders for a better world.
Additionally, it is estimated that approximately 18% of the global workforce is self-employed. These people started, created and are building businesses that they run. Every day they are attempting to grow these businesses, generate new ideas to help increase sales, and come up with creative ways to be as resourceful as they can be. Over the last ten years, this statistic has risen and is predicted to grow. Therefore, approximately 2 out of every 10 children at Harrow Hong Kong are likely to be self-employed and indeed become entrepreneurs in the future.
Embracing entrepreneurship in education has additional benefits. It encourages those who take part to reflect on their strengths, weaknesses and key values. It can help address practical skills, such as oral and written communication, as well as being creative, being able to influence and negotiate, and being flexible and open-minded. It can encourage a ‘can do’ confidence, creative questioning, and a willingness to take risks. These are all life skills necessary for whatever path a pupil takes.
DAVID HARKIN, 7BILLIONIDEAS GROUP CEO
David Harkin is an entrepreneur, a proud TEDx speaker (with 100,000+ views of his talk) and author, who dedicates his life to connecting people with their own ideas. He does this via his ideas company, 7billionideas, which was founded in 2012 and has two arms – Education and Corporate. He was a finalist at the UK Business Awards 2018 in the category of ‘Entrepreneur of the Year’. David is the Director of Entrepreneurship at Harrow Hong Kong and Harrow Bangkok. His company has worked with over 100,000 students across the world delivering world-class enterprise and entrepreneurial services in and outside of the classroom.
