We’ve just concluded a lengthy interview with Professor Mike Campbell OBE, and posted the full transcript to the main Bizenko website.
Professor Campbell has been invovled in workforce development and the “employment skills” debate for over 20 years, both as academic researcher and Government Advisor. He now acts as consultant to a number of international and regional organisations. There isn’t much that this expert doesn’t know about employment skills, and we think his comments will be invaluable to anyone trying to make their way into (sustainable) employment.
Professor Campbell talks about the differences between employment skills as they viewed within Education, and how employers take a differing view. The message is that individuals need to invest considerable effort into their career and skills development in order to survive a rapidly-changing world.
It’s dangerous to assume that the education system or an employer will give you enough of the skill-development that you need in order to protect your “employability”. Professor Campbell agrees with Bizenko that too many people mistake information about how to find a job with genuine careers advice.
One really interesting comment that Professor Campbell made relates to the perception some individuals have about the relevance of commercial awareness in non-corporate jobs. At Bizenko, we’ve noticed that some people think that a desire to work in not-for-profit, public sector or third sector jobs excludes them from the need to understand commercial awareness. Professor Campbell explains how this logic is flawed.
Despite having differing ethos and values, the commercial and not-for-profit sectors are much closer to each other in terms of commercial efficiency than many people think. The professor asks how a not-for-profit organisation the size of Oxfam could hope to endure and be successful unless they were managing resources as effectively as a “for-profit” company.
In addition, the Professor notes that an individual’s understanding of commercial awareness and organisational awareness are critical to life in organisations across all sectors. The fact that this stuff isn’t taught or coached is alarming, but happily for Bizenko and our subscribers, it’s vindication for our service.
Despite being someone who has worked as a Government advisor, the Professor gives refreshingly frank answers to provocative questions, and we hope you can get chance to read his comments as part of your membership of Bizenko. The total benefits available to Bizenko subscribers address many of the issues Professor Campbell sees as being vital for the future.
