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It is not the academic integrity issue that looms the largest in higher education’s use of generative AI apps. Rather, it is our students’ need to gain knowledge, experience and skills with the technologies before they submit applications to employers. I can recall the days when we shifted from classic office tools to more sophisticated ones toward the end of the 20th century. The expectation arose then that graduates have experience and skills with word processors, spreadsheets and basic data-handling programs for most all office jobs. These replaced prior tools of the office trades, such as the venerable IBM Selectrics and desk calculators. More recently, new employees were expected to come with polished skills with search engines, spell checkers and data-visualization tools.
Now, job seekers face even more sophisticated expectations to implement an assortment of generative AI–powered chat bots and tools. Some of these tools are specific to certain career fields. Many, however, are generally transferable from one model to another. Yet, they all begin with an understanding of the underlying technologies of the modern workplace. As Times Higher Education reports in a recent spotlight edition, “Getting Workplace Ready,”
“The leap from higher education to employment has always been a daunting one, but in the age of artificial intelligence (AI), the post-Covid remote-working revolution and the pressing danger of climate change, the vision of the future has never been murkier. Today’s students need their universities’ guidance through the fog. Here’s how to teach them skills that will always be relevant, offer them the best career services possible, link to industry partners and get them application-ready.”
The annual 2024 Work Trend Index report from Microsoft and LinkedIn shows the astonishing rise in employee recognition of the need for generative AI skills:
“Professionals aren’t waiting for official guidance or training—they’re skilling up. 76% say they need AI skills to remain competitive in the job market. 69% of people say AI can help get them promoted faster, and even more (79%) say AI skills will broaden their job opportunities. In the past six months, the use of LinkedIn Learning courses designed to build AI aptitude has spiked 160% among non-technical professionals, with roles like project managers, architects, and administrative assistants looking to skill up most. We’ve also seen a 142x increase in LinkedIn members globally adding AI skills like ChatGPT and Copilot to their profiles—with writers, designers, and marketers topping the list … When it comes to industries, surprisingly, administrative and support services, real estate, and retail lead the way—ahead of the tech industry.”
The integration of generative AI into business, industry, nongovernmental organizations and government agencies is escalating day by day. A data-rich source of statistics is available at the updated AI statistics blog of Exploding Topics.
The impact of generative AI is international in scope. The India-based newspaper The Statesman reflects these comments in its article “Role and significance of artificial intelligence in diverse fields.”
“The contemporary era of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has transformed the knowledge paradigm and learning trajectory so profoundly that it has become imperative for students of management, commerce, humanities, and liberal arts to garner adequate knowledge and proficiency of such emerging technologies in order to have a competitive edge in their professional pursuits. Dynamic changes in AI applications have made students of such streams increasingly adaptive to new technology tools through a continuous process of skilling, reskilling, and upskilling while embracing an interdisciplinary approach by combining knowledge with their existing expertise to become more versatile, efficient, and productive in workplaces.”
Yet it is the research component of generative AI that is often most important to those who use the tool. The impressive ability to synthesize information, draw reasoned conclusions and point to other sources of information that may add clarity to the topic that is under study makes this technology stand out from common indexes and search engines. Times Higher Education notes a study by the academic publisher Elsevier that finds a high percentage of researchers are using the technology:
“Nearly one in three researchers have started using ChatGPT for work purposes, according to a major survey. In a survey of more than 2,200 researchers globally, conducted by academic publisher Elsevier, 31 per cent say that they have used the generative artificial intelligence tool as part of their work. In the Elsevier report, 41 per cent of researchers questioned say that they feel positively about the development of AI tools including generative AI, while 48 per cent say they have mixed feelings, and 10 per cent say they are unsure. Only 1 per cent say that they feel negatively about AI.”
Generative AI skills are important to all students, but they are especially critical for those who are graduating, completing their programs or entering the workforce later this year. Those students need to acquire demonstrable skills as soon as possible this fall.
There are a number of approaches that can ensure that all of our students have access to learning modules on using AI. A good beginning point is to include knowledge and experience with AI among the learning outcomes for each major, minor and certificate program. We then can integrate them into our existing courses, finding the best knowledge fit for all of the students in a given program. Perhaps they can best be placed in the introductory course. In this way, we can ensure students are able to exercise their skills in following courses where updates and more advanced applications can be added along the curricular path.
A number of universities are offering noncredit, continuing education classes on generative AI that are also open to the enrolled student body. These can be offered online and asynchronously so they are available anytime, anywhere to the full range of people who are preparing to launch their first careers, as well as those who are seeking upskilling and reskilling to advance their careers.
How is your department or your institution addressing the essential need of your students to acquire generative AI skills and abilities? What are you doing to help your students gather these key career skills?
