Opinion: BA no joke over here either

Professor Richard Shaw is a political studies lecturer and Director BA (External Connections) at Massey University's College of Humanities and Social Sciences. PHOTO / Supplied.

The old jokes about the humble BA (bachelor of arts) are quietly being retired, replaced by a growing awareness of the crucial importance of the transferable, or soft, skills learned in a BA.

The ability to communicate clearly, think critically, ask shrewd questions and to constantly adapt and learn new things are paramount in a world which is changing rapidly and going in unpredictable directions.

In this respect, it's affirming to see Australian universities (Why an arts degree is no longer a joke qualification, NZ Herald: 12 December) moving in a direction that my own institution, Massey University, started down three years ago, when it revised its BA to showcase the importance of transferable skills.

One of the reasons we did this was because of the clear evidence that these skills are increasingly demanded by employers. Some of that evidence comes from overseas; some from closer to home. For instance, the July-August 2017 issue of the Harvard Business Review noted liberal arts degree graduates are increasingly in demand – especially in the IT sector – because of their abilities to use, interpret and critically engage with vast amounts of information. As the author of the piece noted, "From Silicon Valley to the Pentagon, people are beginning to realise that to effectively tackle today's biggest social and technological challenges, we need to think critically about their human context – something humanities graduates happen to be well trained to do."

Closer to home, the same thinking applies. The March 30 edition of the New Zealand Herald quoted PwC chief executive Mark Averill pointing out: "These days it's all about people who can solve problems and are able to change and adapt quickly – so it's increasingly important for graduates to have broader, softer skills as well as a technical background."

And in a Radio New Zealand interview last year Kim Campbell, the CEO of the Employers and Manufacturers Association, had this to say: "Soft skills are really important. Do you get along well with other people? Are you comfortable with other cultures? Are you able to learn new skills and are you willing to change as things change? Are you flexible in your attitudes to things? These things are hard to measure, but boy, are they important in building a career."

In other words, think of a BA as intellectual infrastructure – a bit like #8 fencing wire for the mind. And in the case of Massey University, the academic fencing seems to be working, because we have some pretty compelling numbers on our side. For example, 88 per cent of arts students who responded to our most recent Graduate Destination Survey were working, either full-time or part-time. What's more, they were employed in more than 63 roles in 14 different industry sectors, including education and training, defence, financial and insurance services, and construction. In short, our BA graduates are adaptable, employable – and they're everywhere.

Of course, any tertiary education – and this is especially so for a BA – is not just about work. We live in challenging times, and one of the critical tasks of a BA is to prepare students to take their places as active, informed and engaged citizens in a world that is badly in need of people who can think for themselves, and listen to and respect, the views of others. We do that too, within the BA. Indeed, the very same transferable skills that appeal to employers are also crucial to our collective ability to act collaboratively to tackle the big, complex issues of our times.

A prime example came from just-retired Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment Dr Jan Wright, interviewed on RNZ's Nine to Noon this week. Reflecting on her 10 years in the role, she said scientists alone could not come up with solutions and tell us what to do about the many and massive challenges of climate change, biodiversity decline, and environmental degradation that they research and measure. "It's about picking through reasoning and logic, and looking at the arguments," she said.

The world is changing – perhaps more rapidly and radically than at any previous time in history. If we are to keep up; if we are to adapt; if we are to determine the course of our future, rather than allow it to be determined for us by smart machines and anonymous global forces – then our attitudes and prejudices about what counts as valuable in education must also change. It's time to stop horsing about – if you think the BA is a joke, then the joke is on you.

Professor Richard Shaw is a political studies lecturer and director BA (external connections) at Massey University's College of Humanities and Social Sciences