Associations and their role as educators

This article was developed in collaboration with DNA and previously appeared in the trade journal VM.Associations play a prominent role in gathering and sharing information about their field of work. This often entails taking a role in educating and developing people further. This is certainly true of professional and industry associations. But other associations are also active in this, think of sports associations or associations that use many volunteers to achieve their goals.This article focuses on training for professions and sectors. And on the question of what it means for the role of the association as educator, when we see that associations are becoming more and more important in providing essential information, we look together for which skills are future-proof and we also look for ways to assign future-proof skills.

21st-century skills

First, let's look at what the term 21st century skills means and why it is considered such an important concept. The definition of the term is simple: what skills (abilities) are important to keep up even in the 21st century. The concept has been embraced by a variety of bodies such as employer and employee organizations, economic study groups and government.

The old curriculum in our education system predates the introduction of the smartphone and the tablet, and everyone can verify that the world has changed quite a bit, especially with the emergence of all kinds of technological communication devices. The new education will therefore have to be largely hung up on insights around those new skills. More importantly, mastering those skills is important not only for our youth, but in fact for everyone who works. And so it affects most associations as well. We see three segments in 21st century skills

• Thinking and acting: creative thinking, problem solving and critical thinking;
• Ways of interacting with others: communication, cooperation, social and cultural skills;
• Ways of knowing yourself: entrepreneurial thinking and action, orientation to yourself, your studies and your career and finally self-regulation.

Then and Now

There are differences between then and now when it comes to working together. Then: in an organization with a strict hierarchy and tightly defined tasks, everyone sitting behind their little table doing what is assigned. Now: in teams in which we can constantly respond to changes and in which a strict hierarchy is disastrous, in which we discuss matters with each other with an almost equal hat on. It is a black-and-white comparison, and precisely because we are taking a large distance here between then and now, we see what has really changed. People function completely differently now. They are seen as:

• Independent and critical (being able to think critically): in the past you didn't participate in decision-making, you weren't a member of a project group, et cetera. Now this is totally different.
• Verbal (communication): if you want to function in a team, you must be able to communicate well and interact well with others.
• Creativity: being able to come up with good ideas. Nowadays we need to be able to think along and thinking is not only reserved for the top.

And finally, the world has gone digital, so we need to be able to keep up digitally. In order to (learn to) master all these skills, we also see a new angle emerging prominently: self-direction. Without self-direction there is no possibility to develop yourself further.

21st-century skills and associations

What does all this mean for associations? Whereas we have developed a fairly strict separation between training for a profession by the educational institutions on the one hand and further training, retraining and development by the sectors and professional associations on the other, now the task of taking a role in the primary teaching of relevant skills certainly lies with the associations again. Educational institutions visibly struggle with bringing the curriculum up to date, and it is not wise to leave training entirely to education. Moreover, there are professions and branches for which there is hardly any training in education, just think of the profession of associations.

Are educational institutions a priori the first to know how the profession is changing? Of course not. It is the people in the field who are the first to experience what is changing. Associations set themselves the goal of being a gathering place for people who practice roughly the same profession or trade. And that should also mean that it is primarily the associations that have a task here.

Greater role in training

Some associations already have a major role in training people for the trade or profession, but there are also many associations that have not yet developed this to such an extent. They do organize meetings to share knowledge and inform members about 'new developments in the field of...'. At such a time, this association in fact offers a 'pick' of education to underline their service. Often this is then also done to add a professional touch to a pleasant gathering. This type of activity is becoming increasingly important.

A second development that brings education as a role for associations much closer is the Internet. Most associations find it too big a step to organize classes, appoint teaching staff and examine. Because of the Internet, this is different. Indeed, online it is quite possible for many associations to offer all kinds of courses on a large scale without too much cost. Of course, this will not be true for every professional aspect, but at least the 21st-century skills are excellent to offer online.

"Online it is very possible for many associations to offer all kinds of courses on a large scale without too much cost."

21st-century accreditation

Educational institutions have to abide by what has been set for the program, and the inspection verifies their compliance. A certain rigidity is inherent in the soundness of this system. Especially continuing education, and to a lesser extent continuing education, should not suffer from rigidity when it comes to new developments. In practice, you see developments that make this possible, such as the open badges.

Open badges can be compared to getting badges in the Boy Scouts. Every group has people who test if you have mastered something and then you get a badge. There is no umbrella body, there is no inspection, and it works very well in the Boy Scouts. In professional practice, the system has taken off in digital skills, but if it works for Boy Scouts, it can be used for many skills.

Open badges

Open badges has boomed due to major donations from Bill Gates and initiatives by FireFox. Large institutions such as IBM have completely switched to open badges to set up their own education. And it's working. Studies show that all of IBM's departments have performed better since adopting open badges. And, more importantly, the overall bottom line has been significantly positively impacted by the introduction of these open badges. For associations, this should be an eye opener.

Key features of open badges:

• 'Evidence based'; the badges indicate what the student has done/learned;
• Can be stacked into mile badges;
• Are shareable on social platforms, among others;
• May be recognized by other agencies and individuals ("endorsement");
• Are issued by any authority that wants to offer education. It is the strength of the authority and the level of endorsement that ultimately determine the importance of such a badge;
• The badge holder determines who gets to see his badges;
• Unlike certificates, open badges are not falsifiable; once recorded, data cannot be changed. In the typical jargon of open badges, one speaks of "open badges are baked.

Open badges will soon be the ideal tool for associations that are aware of their responsibility to pass on the latest trends in their professions.

Digital solutions for your association

As an online training provider, SkillsTown's 'Connect' division provides additional connections between associations and their stakeholders. The digital (learning) solutions in the personalized online environment of SkillsTown make it possible to easily share knowledge digitally, and offer your target group the opportunity to (continue to) develop themselves optimally. Want to know more about the possibilities? Let's connect!