Independent Thinking founder Ian Gilbert is currently based in Finland where his wife is the Principal of the International School of Helsinki.

At a dinner last night where Ian was on official bag carrier/arm candy duties, he was chatting to a Finn who worked for one the country's leading AI and technology companies with offices across the world.

'From your perspective,' Ian asked the executive between courses, 'what are you looking for in young people entering the job market?'

'For a start,' he replied, 'I'm not really interested in what they have done but what they can do.'

'OK.'

No Answers

'The world is changing so quickly they need to be adaptable, to be able to work when there are no answers because everything is moving so fast.'

'There are no answers at the back of the book any more.'

'Absolutely. Also, my company helps big businesses produce data to help them make decisions. The AI is good at that. But we still need humans to interrogate those numbers, to think about them, to think critically about them.'

'We need metacognitive skills then? To think through our thinking when it comes to the data.'

'OK?'.

Are We Asking the Right Questions?

'There's work being undertaken by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation on how important metacognition is when working with AI. We need to not only be able to think critically about the answers AI gives us but also make sure we are asking the right questions.'

'Absolutely.'

'So, adaptability and critical thinking, of both words and numbers - that's your message to schools from the world of technology and AI?'

'Kyllä!'

Then they were interrupted by a karaoke version of 'Livin' on a Prayer' but you get the gist.

There's No Book!

To what extent, in your day-to-day work in schools, are you helping young people develop the skills of adaptability and criticality?

How are you helping young people understand that the answers aren't always in the back of the book and, increasingly, there's no book? 

To find out how we can help schools develop these two important skills in their young people – and a whole lot more – give us a call on 01267 211432 or drop us a line for a free, no-obligation chat.

And do go and visit Finland. The locals are lovely. [ITL]

Ian Gilbert in Helsinki