Skills Catchphrases

Monday, 24 July 2017 2937 Views

"Learning objectives have evolved. It’s no longer just about knowledge and access. Skills are the new currency. "- World Economic Forum

There is relevancy for skills is in education, higher education, and professional and career development. They connect everything together.

Skills are the verb of knowledgeRyan Frischmann

The definition of knowledge is ‘the skills and facts and information acquired through experiences; the practical understanding of a subject or discipline”. Skills represent the action part.

Skills are the language of learning  - Ryan Frischmann

Skills work laterally across subjects and disciplines, and vertically across education, higher education, and career stages. Working with skills and competencies is ideal for lifelong learning.

“Don’t wish it was easier, wish you were better. Don’t wish for less problems, wish for more skills. Don’t wish for less challenge, wish for more wisdom.” – Jim Rohn

"Skills do solve problems. They are fundamental in everything we do."

Will, skill, drill – Tim Hurson

Like with physical skills and sports, it’s possible to continually practice skills for actual (game time) experiences. This is especially relevant with soft skills and foundational thinking.

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." - Aristotle

This perfectly applies to a Skill Culture where you are motivated to learn and apply skills properly. As you practice skills, you learn to apply them instantaneously. This is critical with social and thinking skills as we must apply them (on the spot) in conversing, making decisions, and becoming productive.

"Education is not the learning of facts, but training the mind to think." - Einstein

Should move away from rote memorization towards experiential and applied learning, especially as technology and applications become more pervasive in our everyday interactions. Thinking skills (analytical, critical, computational, conceptual, creative/novel, convergent, divergent, rational, etc.) provide a foundation for all learning.

“A winner is someone who recognizes his God-given talents, works his tail off to develop them into skills, and uses these skills to accomplish his goals.” – Larry Bird

Usually pit talent and skill against each other. But when you do have talent, do what you can to translate the talent into skills.

“One of the bigger misconceptions of learning is that many skills take a lifetime to get world-class at, or 10,000 hours to become world-class at.” – Timothy Ferris

Learning a new skill can take anywhere from 20 hours (for personal needs) to 10,000 hours (becoming a master). Feeling you must become a master is an unnecessary demotivator.

“The willingness to learn new skills is high” – Angela Merkel

Most people feel they can learn a skill if they put the time and effort into the process. This is a key premise of a Skills Culture, which is very much a growth mindset.