Sergey Brin and Larry Page, both brilliant computer scientists, founded their company, Google, on the conviction that only technologists can understand technology. Google originally set its hiring algorithms to sort for computer science students with top grades from elite science universities.
In 2013, Google decided to test its hiring hypothesis by crunching every bit and byte of hiring, firing, and promotion data accumulated since the company’s incorporation in 1998. Project Oxygen shocked everyone by concluding that, among the eight most important qualities of Google’s top employees, STEM expertise comes in dead last.
The six top characteristics of success at Google are all soft skills:
being a good coach
communicating and listening well
possessing insights into others (including other different values and points of view)
having empathy toward and being supportive of one’s colleagues
being a good critical thinker and problem solver
being able to make connections across complex ideas
Parents, school career advisers, policymakers and business leaders must now begin to tell all kids that the foundation skills––as Google found out––are not narrow occupation-specific skills, but rather are broad skills related to the ability to work with others, think critically and be a lifelong learner. The kind of skills that are best built with a broad liberal arts education.
The post concludes:
"No student should be prevented from majoring in an area they love based on a false idea of what they need to succeed. Broad learning skills are the key to long-term, satisfying, productive careers. What helps you thrive in a changing world isn’t rocket science. It may just well be social science, and, yes, even the humanities and the arts that contribute to making you not just workforce-ready but world-ready."
Thanks to Scott Gillespie for sending this on to me. Here is the original link: http://michiganfuture.org/01/2018/google-finds-stem-skills-arent-the-most-important-skills/
Dr Peter J. Hatherley-Greene, Director of Learning, at Emarise
Emarise has a particular interest in Nationalisation efforts in the UAE, assisting both Emiratis and private sector companies and organisations to facilitate smoother recruitment and onboarding of Nationals that leads to improved long-term retention.
Backed by doctoral-level research which described the difficult cultural border crossings experienced by young Emiratis as they make the transition from high school to colleges and universities of higher education, Dr. Peter Hatherley-Greene, Emarise Principal and Director of Learning, has 20 years experience working with organisations in the GCC on cultural-change and specialises in supporting organisations to overcome the unique challenges and to capture the opportunities which Emiratisation presents.