Training industry

I was having coffee with this friend, who like me, studied abroad both in the US and UK talking about how this whole education industry has become so mercenary and price inflation just crazy. And honestly, most of the things they are teaching students are really not used in most of our jobs though it is probably just the thinking and problem-solving skills they cultivate in the process that matters.

Today of course there’s this huge industry that helps to train workers after they graduate in all kinds of skills that are required for them to be corporate cogs; from financial modelling, to giving presentations, business writing and so on. I find it fascinating that one have to shell out more money in order to be trained in these areas after having already spent somewhere around a quarter of a million in an undergraduate degree. Where did learning on the job go? Why do companies expect fresh graduates to immediately be able to plug themselves into the work? How can that even be possible?

Alright, maybe the training industry is there to help people pivot into new types of jobs and so on without having to go in from entry level. But honestly, the best way to learn is really to get on a project, network and meet people who can potentially guide you. Of course you can pay for a coach to support that learning journey; but the quality of these various services are hard to evaluate. You need to rely on good word-of-mouth, and be committed to learn yourself. If you expect to be spoon-feed and that a certificate from these courses would magically qualify you for new things, you’ll have to start changing your mind.