Our popular podcast, Learn Better Series, is back for a fourth season with our host Stuart Pedley Smith - Head of Learning at Kaplan.
The first episode of our brand new season features a very impressive guest: Ben Wildavsky. Ben is a scholar, veteran higher education writer, strategist, speaker, host of the podcast, Higher Ed Spotlight, and author of The Great Brain Race, and more recently, The Career Arts.
Key topics discussed
Ben’s background
Stuart introduces Ben and asks what led him to dedicate most of his career to education. Ben shares how he has always been fascinated by education, specifically with how everyone who has been to school or university will have their own firsthand experience and opinion on the topic.
However, it wasn’t until he became a journalist that he found that he was automatically drawn to education despite having many opportunities to write about other themes. As a result, this has led him to focus strongly on education as the years have passed.
The thought process behind the book
Stuart and Ben discuss Ben’s recent book, The Career Arts, which follows a threefold format on how to build career success through a broad education, targeted skills and social capital.
They begin the conversation by discussing the importance of not losing sight of the broader skills that help you navigate change and remain a valued professional. Ben refers to the example of ‘hybrid jobs,’ which essentially is a role that requires both creativity and analytical skill sets.
Social capital
The three main chapters in Ben’s book are Degree Value, Alternative Credentials, and Social Capital. Stuart and Ben discuss the latter in some detail, Ben provides knowledgeable and well-researched insight into the importance of networking and knowing people who can vouch for you throughout your career, which sits at the heart of what is meant by social capital.
“It’s not just your close friends or your family that's necessarily going to help you with your professional development. It’s a broader network, you have to widen the circle.”
The interesting discussion emphasises the idea that education and targetted skills are still necessary, but no longer sufficient on their own. Building your social capital is just as important. The conversation also includes tips on how you can network and get ahead in your career no matter who you know or your background.
LinkedIn
Following the social capital discussion, Ben draws on examples from people such as Mark S. Granovetter, who put forward the theory of “the strengths of weak ties,” back in 1973. The argument is that while strong ties provide emotional support and information, weak ties bridge new information and opportunities outside one's immediate social circle.
Using LinkedIn and his own research as a source, Ben explains how this theory is still increasingly relevant and a proven method of advancing your career in today’s world.
“You’ve identified that broader education, and those transferable skills developed through broader education, are not only transferable but effectively resilient to change.”
Transferable skills
Stuart asks whether the development of transferable skills is dependent on the individual learner/professional or the educators designing courses and curriculums.
Ben notes that many different factors contribute to the development of transferable skills, which means that it’s difficult to pinpoint where a curriculum would target this. However, he does shine a light on the rise of hiring managers who are now looking for certain skill sets over qualifications - which leads to a natural encouragement from educators to help develop learners’ softer skills.
GenAI
It’s difficult not to talk about GenAI due to its significant role in the technological developments in education, finance, and all other industries. Ben shares his views on GenAI, stating that it will significantly assist with routine tasks and harder skills, but skills such as the ability to lead, work with other people, be creative or assess a situation thoughtfully will always see a comparative advantage in favour of human beings.
Catch up with previous episodes
Don’t worry if you’ve missed any episodes. All previous episodes of the Learn Better Series can be found on: