Education must be upgraded to meet the requirements of today’s modern world. It needs to provide real life skills, encourage innovation and support student talents. Relevant education is vital to the wellbeing of any society, but it is especially crucial to the survival and progress of developing countries with an increasing number of young people.

Pakistan’s youth, making up the majority of the population, must be educated and provided with the necessary skills to become a viable workforce and produce the next generation of innovators. In its current state, the education system fails to provide real-life skills and opportunities to talented students who have the potential to become the next Bill Gates. By increasing access, improving quality and having more means to reward talent, education at all levels can offer many opportunities to its youth and to the general population, changing their lives dramatically.

Educational institutions must emphasize critical learning, provide students with internships and other tools to learn skills through direct experience and encourage and support entrepreneurship.

Providing opportunity Education is the key to improving the lives of people at different stages. The right education provides skills for employment, opportunities for innovation and alleviates poverty at both the individual and societal level. No country is immune to economic downfalls, especially in a highly interconnected world. The recent recession has affected millions in the United States with record high unemployment resulting in people becoming homeless and hopeless.

A homeless Long Island high school student, Samantha Garvey changed her and her family’s life by becoming a semi-finalist in the prestigious Intel Science Talent Search. She is currently in the running for a $100,000 prize against 299 other top students. In 2010, she was a semi-finalist in the Siemens National Competition in Math, Science & Technology. Her research, published last year in a magazine specialising in marine life, focused on the effects of the ribbed mussel on the bio-systems of some species in swampy areas along the Long Island coast.

More recently, her science research teacher provided her access to the Stony Brook University laboratory, where Garvey conducted the research on mussels and other mollusks affected by the Asian short crab, an invasive species. She concluded that mussels exposed to the Asian short crab grew stronger, with thicker and heavier shells to protect them from predators. The publicity of her scientific work and talent as a high school student attracted many donations, including a $50,000 scholarship from AT&T, a place to live for her family, and much other support allowing her to follow her dreams.

Many other Americans are going through hard times financially and their only income comes from unemployment benefits. Due to the unprecedented need, Platform to Employment (P2E) a public-private partnership programme was established to connect the long-term unemployed with employers that need skilled workers. This internship programme gives businesses a risk-free opportunity to evaluate and consider hiring participants during an eight-week work experience programme. The unemployed go through a five-week preparatory programme, including skills assessment, career readiness workshops, employee assistance programmes, coaching and more. At the end of training, they are placed with the best company matching their skills. The businesses hosting the interns have a job to offer, and if satisfied with the performance of the candidate, a full-time job will follow.

Providing support Education, at all levels should be upgraded to respond to the needs of society, especially to help students attain practical skills that can lead to gaining and maintaining employment. There is a key role for education in today’s world, by changing the life of a gifted high school student and her family or by providing professional training for those who are currently unemployed to enhance and upgrade the skills. Such examples may be not exclusive to the United States. If the right education opportunity and support is offered, anyone can take advantage and succeed.

In addition to opportunity, it is crucial to receive support. Support can be in the shape of education, professional training, encouraging the starting of new businesses, financial incentives and more. Public-private partnerships among universities or other education institutions and businesses can provide the needed path for many young students that are just starting their careers, or people at any level of their career or life. The government and private sector must take note of the great need for increased access to quality education for all and making the establishment of such private-public partnerships a priority. These partnerships may be in the form of centres at educational institutions that offer training courses, technical advice and scholarships or grants to foster start-up businesses.

The writers work for the Promotion of Education in Pakistan Foundation, Inc., USA info@pepfoundation.org