By Sylvie Edwards | Most Colleges and Universities out there are trying to prepare students for the workplace. How does one teach professionalism? That's what I've been asking myself for some time now
This should be an absolute must for all university students. Kids who have grown up during the COVID years are in particular need of support when it comes to professionalism. And what "respect" means seems to vary - not only from generation to generation, but from industry to industry, and even contingent on the ideological leanings of the leadership. Having worked with both students on campuses around the world and with interns in workplaces through the years, a lot of unhappiness, time, and money could be saved with better attention to what work actually means beyond competence with a software. Humans are not plug and play. Great article!
As I hinted in the piece, it is not one-size fits all in terms of training or teaching professionalism. There are no ABC manuals for being a skilled professional. Add to this that a lot of the people now setting up to teach professionalism often are not very professional themselves. Take being late for example, I would never have dreamed of being late but now it seems to be a badge of honour for folks that you would expect to be professionals. Another aspect that I did not go into (ran out of words in the article) is the fact that we have very diverse classrooms, which means distinct aspects or views around what being professional means. There are various views or applications across the world on this and they are all coming together. The lowest common denominator trumps logic and that's not always for the best results.
Take the service industry - a polite and respectful person used to be the norm. Now you are lucky if they grunt at you as if you are wasting their time.
This should be an absolute must for all university students. Kids who have grown up during the COVID years are in particular need of support when it comes to professionalism. And what "respect" means seems to vary - not only from generation to generation, but from industry to industry, and even contingent on the ideological leanings of the leadership. Having worked with both students on campuses around the world and with interns in workplaces through the years, a lot of unhappiness, time, and money could be saved with better attention to what work actually means beyond competence with a software. Humans are not plug and play. Great article!
Thank you, Anna, for the great comment...
As I hinted in the piece, it is not one-size fits all in terms of training or teaching professionalism. There are no ABC manuals for being a skilled professional. Add to this that a lot of the people now setting up to teach professionalism often are not very professional themselves. Take being late for example, I would never have dreamed of being late but now it seems to be a badge of honour for folks that you would expect to be professionals. Another aspect that I did not go into (ran out of words in the article) is the fact that we have very diverse classrooms, which means distinct aspects or views around what being professional means. There are various views or applications across the world on this and they are all coming together. The lowest common denominator trumps logic and that's not always for the best results.
Take the service industry - a polite and respectful person used to be the norm. Now you are lucky if they grunt at you as if you are wasting their time.
The lowest common denominator trumps logic. May I have that in gold inlay on a plinth, please.