1 Introduction

Rapid technological advancements coupled with social, economic, and environmental problems pose the need to prepare students for the opportunities and circumstances of the future. Megatrends influence the skills needed to face uncertainties and challenges, as well as to navigate a more complex world. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) identified megatrends as migration, climate change, and COVID-19 (not a megatrend but a significant shock event). It pointed out that these megatrends make lifelong learning imperative and that it is essential for all citizens to become full and active participants in the economy and society (OECD, 2021). In the post-pandemic world, it is also recognized that workers may not be able to return to their previous roles and must retrain and upskill to find a new job with new skill requirements. As tasks are automated in the future, today’s worker skills will become redundant (OECD, 2021).

According to the World Economic Forum, 50 percent of employees need to reskill to respond to the pandemic’s economic impact and the automation of jobs (Whiting, 2020). They estimated that in 2025, 85 million jobs may be displaced due to the division of labor among humans and machines. Despite this, 95 million jobs may emerge that are more adapted to this new division.

The OECD (2018) argued that the development of Future Skills for learners lies in the hands of the education sector. Aside from merely providing academic courses, Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) must also enrich the values and skills that will help learners become responsible citizens and enable them to actively participate in building a better and sustainable society.

In general, future-ready learners must possess the sense of agency in dealing with their own learning and other situations they will encounter in their lifetime (OECD, 2018). The Economist Intelligence Unit reported in 2015 that education systems were not providing enough skills needed by the students and in the workplace. As a result, the students are making up for these deficiencies. Agency implies an individual’s duty to engage with people and events and make decisions for the better. One of the ways in which agency can be developed is through education. Educators must simultaneously acknowledge the individuality of learners and their relationships with people who influence their learning. This is the so-called “co-agency” or supportive relationships that help learners achieve their goals. The OECD (2018) identified two factors that contribute to inculcating agency in learners: (1) personalized learning environments and (2) building a solid foundation of literacy and numeracy. A personalized learning environment enables learners to pursue their passions and gain knowledge and experience from various learning methods.

In the Philippines, the concept of Future Skills can be gleaned through the University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU) as it adapts the concept of the “University of the Future.” Since it is the premier University of online education in the country, it has articulated the use of digital technology as a tool to future-proof degrees as well as to upskill and reskill learners.

This chapter discusses the concept of Future Skills, particularly in the context of Higher Education. It also highlights the case of the Philippines’ “University of the Future” and how assessment is redesigned to develop Future Skills of public servants.

2 The Concept of Future Skills

To provide a better understanding of Future Skills, it is important to define this concept and identify the role of HEIs and digital learning in the development of Future Skills.

2.1 Defining Future Skills

In 2020, the World Economic Forum observed that the future work had arrived for a large majority of online white-collar workforce, with employers rapidly digitalizing the working processes. This can be attributed to the remote work arrangement that has been adopted during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. There is a need to incorporate knowledge and ideas that will enable workers to become competent with their actual jobs and to other work that will be available for them.

Ehlers and Kellermann (2019) define Future Skills as an individual’s capability to successfully respond to and act on future changes and intricate problems in a self-organized way. In simpler words, these are the skills that will be instrumental to people’s success in the future (Fidler, 2016).

Ehlers and Kellermann (2019) identified three dimensions of Future Skills. The first Future Skills dimension is the subjective dimension, which refers to the individual’s personal capability to acquire and develop skills that will enable them to actively participate in the future workforce. This dimension contains seven skills: (1) ability to make a decision on their own and act suitably (autonomy); (2) ability to take on tasks without being asked to (self-initiative); (3) ability to effectively control their behavior and decisions (self-management); (4) desire to attain accomplishments and mastery (need/motivation for achievement); (5) receptivity to changes and various situations (personal agility); (6) ability to take charge of their own learning (autonomous learning competence); and (7) belief in their capabilities to succeed in tasks (self-efficacy).

The second Future Skills dimension is the object dimension, referring to an individual’s capability with regard to objects, tasks, and issues (Ehlers & Kellermann, 2019). This dimension contains five skills: (1) ability to adapt to dynamic objects and contexts (agility); (2) ability to come up with new and unpredicted solutions to a certain task (creativity); (3) openness to uncertainty while performing different roles (tolerance for ambiguity); (4) ability to use digital technology in accomplishing tasks and goals (digital literacy); and (5) ability to examine one’s experiences and learn from them (ability to reflect).

The third Future Skills dimension is the social dimension, which pertains to an individual’s capability to act with regard to their social environment (Ehlers & Kellermann, 2019). This dimension contains four skills: (1) ability to understand the essence of given tasks or instructions (Davies et al., 2011) (sense-making); (2) ability to think ahead and motivation to pursue lifelong learning (future mindset); (3) ability to effectively work in teams and in culturally diverse working environments (cooperation skills); and (4) ability to facilitate dialogue and criticize when needed (communication competence).

To enable learners to keep pace with evolving jobs, the responsibility to transform current practices and approaches in education and work is shouldered by all stakeholders concerned, including policymakers, business leaders, sector specialists, and the civil society.

The Asian Development Bank (2021) outlined the following skills categories that had been brought upon by the task shifts in the 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR): (1) critical thinking and adaptive learning (2) written and verbal communication (3) numeracy (4) complex problem-solving (5) management (6) social (7) evaluation, judgment, and decision-making (8) technical (9) computer literacy (10) digital/ICT. The ADB added that 4IR technologies make it simpler to monitor workers, thus making management skills less important.

On the other hand, the International Labor Organization (2021) also declared its Global Framework on Core Skills for Life and Work in the twenty-first Century. The framework provides the foundation for lifelong employability, decent work, and well-being of all. It also suggests a robust, concise taxonomy and definition of core skills for policymakers, teachers, trainers and assessors. Lastly, it underpins and promotes the development of curricula in a variety of educational settings. The ILO Framework identifies 19 Core Skills needed to adapt to the future of work grouped into four categories:

  1. (1)

    Social and emotional skills (Communication, Collaboration and Teamwork, Conflict Resolution and Negotiation, Emotional Intelligence)

  2. (2)

    Cognitive and metacognitive skills (Foundational Literacies, Analytical and Critical Thinking, Creative and Innovative Thinking, Strategic Thinking, Problem-solving and decision-making, self-reflection and learning to learn; collect, organize, and analyse information; planning and organizing, career management)

  3. (3)

    Basic digital skills (use basic software, use basic hardware, operate safely in an online environment)

  4. (4)

    Basic skills for green jobs (Environmental awareness, waste reduction and waste management, energy and water efficiency).

At the regional level, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (2021) listed the Future Skills which are incorporated, albeit partly, in the curriculum and assessment in general education, technical-vocational education, and higher education: (1) cognitive skills (numeracy and literacy; low-order cognitive skills on the level of understanding and applying; high-order cognitive skills on the level of analyzing, evaluating, critical thinking, creating, innovating) (2) ICT skills or digital literacy (3) STEM skills (4) learnability (5) social skills (6) character qualities (7) problem-solving in complex, technology-rich environments, and (8) “Green Skills” and environment awareness. Although Future Skills are part of curricula, assessments and teaching and learning materials and implementation are still in progress.

With all these discussions, it is evident that there is a recognition of the Future Skills needed to address current and future challenges. These various skills are identified in order to be able to craft the relevant policies, plans, programs and strategies that could develop them.

2.2 The Role of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in the Development of Future Skills

According to Ehlers and Kellermann (2019), the learning experience provided by higher education institutions (HEIs) will also undergo significant changes. They discussed the four drivers or pillars of change in higher education, which are categorized into content and curriculum-related drivers and organization-structure-related drivers. Under the content and curriculum-related drivers are (1) Future Skills focus and (2) multi-institutional study pathways. As opposed to the current learning system where the mere focus is to acquire knowledge and skills in preparation for a professional career, HEIs in the future will also emphasize development of Future Skills. Networked universities will also emerge, where multiple HEIs will collaborate to offer certain programs to learners. Under the organization-structure-related drivers are (1) personalization of academic learning and (2) the lifelong learning university. Learners will be granted more freedom in forming their own curricula depending on their personal preferences. This will lead to a more flexible learning environment where learners can also collaborate with educators in building the curriculum. Lastly, higher education will be supplemented by lifelong learning. HEIs will start offering lifelong learning programs such as those for learners who are seeking to develop skills and competence they need in the workplace.

Ehlers et al. (2022) also noted that Future Skills must be genuinely integrated in the curricula and not only through detached workshops and extracurricular training. This entails self-assessment with formative feedback processes to support the students’ Future Skills development.

In the Philippines, the role of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) is crucial in incorporating Future Skills. The country has a very young population. The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) estimated the Philippines population to be 110 million in 2020 with the percentage of youth representing 28.69% or about 31.9 million with ages 15 to 30. Moreover, the country is also ranked as one of the most vulnerable to climate change and is hit frequently with typhoons, floodings, earthquakes, among others.

However, even with about 2000 HEIs in the Philippines, it is the UPOU that has been actively promoting its concept of the University of the future, including reskilling and upskilling, through the development and implementation of microlearning courses. This is because of its nature as an institution that utilizes ICT in the delivery of education.

2.3 Digital Learning and Its Prospects in Developing Future Skills

A study by Sariyatun et al. (2021) showed that digital learning has potential in developing and improving social skills of learners. Through digital education, learners take part in intensive interaction and communication with each other and with educators, contributing to a collaborative learning environment. The authors noted that according to Schrage (1990), working with other learners on group tasks enhances learners’ decision-making and task and time management skills (Sariyatun et al., 2021, p. 420). Using digital learning materials also prompts learners to explore other sources of information outside the classroom. There is also opportunity for learners to expand their technological knowledge and expertise. Despite the benefits of digital learning in honing the social skills of students, it is important to note that there are still values that can only be learned through physical interaction; hence, it will be more effective to utilize both digital learning and traditional learning in shaping social skills of learners.

Dede and McGivney (2021) also discussed the different digital technologies that can be used for lifelong learning. One of which is virtual reality, which can be useful for training learners in a simulated environment. Despite not being in the actual work environment, learners can still experience, develop, and put into practice the needed knowledge and skills through simulation. This digital technology can also help in developing learners’ self-efficacy to accept new roles, which is one of the Future Skills identified by Ehlers and Kellermann (2019). Artificial intelligence can also be utilized for personalized tutoring systems, where learners are granted the freedom to choose what, when, and how they learn.

However, a study by Zwart et al. (2020) found that the confidence of nursing students decreased with the use of digital learning materials. For digital learning to be more efficient, and to encourage the learners to engage actively, the authors recommended the following points: (1) the learners should be able to conduct their own online assessment; (2) there should be set quality criteria for tasks; and (3) there should be rules regarding online collaboration and interaction. They also noted that the educators should also support learners in developing their self-efficacy, which can be strengthened through a more virtual-based learning environment.

Grand-Clement (2017) also expounded on the importance of integration of digital skills in formal education. The use of technology has led to the remodeling of learning into a lifelong process since learners have to be constantly up-to-date with new developments and skills in the digital world. These digital skills, such as the ability to use digital technologies and digital navigation skills, serve as a tool to help learners with their daily lives and future professions.

Governments are also given the significant responsibility of ensuring that workers possess the skills and knowledge to effectively adapt to the dynamic and high technology work environments of the future (OECD, 2017). This can be achieved through improving the quality of education and training, incentives to encourage individuals to invest in developing in-demand skills, high-quality assessment systems, and efficient information and guidance systems.

It is also important to note that there is still few existing literature on the direct relationship between digital education and Future Skills. Based on the reviewed literature regarding the future of higher education and due to the increased use and integration of digital technologies in education, workplace, and our daily lives, it is important to conduct further studies regarding the significant role digital education will play in the development of Future Skills. The lack of Future Skills literature in the Asian contexts, specifically in the Southeast Asian region, also opens up an opportunity to do research on this topic. Thus, this paper will attempt to contribute not only to the concept of Future Skills but also to the use of digital technology in higher education.

3 Research Design

This paper discusses the case of the Philippines in terms of skills education for the future, particularly in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). The country is the fourth largest country in Southeast Asia and has the 13th largest population in the world, seventh in Asia. It is an archipelago consisting of more than 7000 islands with a large and young population. However, there are many challenges when it comes to higher education that are related to quality and accessibility which became more apparent during the COVID-19 pandemic. As the country bounces back, it should be important for the education sector to build forward better.

The study discusses the following questions: (a) What is the concept of the University of the Future for UPOU?; (b) How is Open and Distance E-learning (ODeL) articulated towards future-ready degrees?; (c) What are the initiatives for the Master of the Public Management (MPM) Program to develop the Future Skills of public servants?; (d) Are the learning activities aptly designed to develop Future Skills of public servants?; and (e) How can online assignments be redesigned to incorporate development of Future Skills?

The research is a descriptive study that utilized primary and secondary data. It reviewed and analyzed documents, reports, online articles related to the subject. Since the concept of Future Skills is in the process of being articulated in the Philippines, the researcher relied on the recorded messages from conferences and webinars. For the primary data, an online survey was designed and conducted to determine their perceptions regarding the redesigned assignment as well as Future Skills.

The study focused on the case of the University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU) as it is the premier University that offers online education in the country. Moreover, it also pursues the concept of “University of the Future” as it envisions to escalate online learning to develop microlearning courses and immersive technologies; future-proof degrees including the development of Future Skills of students.

The Master of Public Management (MPM) Program was selected since the researcher also served as its Program Chair. The majority of the students under this program are public servants working in different aspects of government, civil society and the private sector. There were three courses that were selected since they were also handled by the Researcher.

In these three courses, collaborative assignments were designed to enable learners to collaborate and communicate with each other. Since it was the first time using the redesigned assignment, it was important to get feedback from the learners on how they perceived the group task and determine if it can be a mechanism to develop Future Skills of students. Thus, the skills that were utilized are the 17 competencies based on the research by Ehlers and Kellermann (2019) which are also discussed in the previous chapter. They include organizational, subject development-related, and object-related skills. Each of the indicators include a short description. This is also a way for the students to learn more about the importance of Future Skills. A Likert scale was utilized to determine the strength of their perceptions.

The online survey was deployed through Google Forms after the semester ended. It was sent to all the students of the three courses selected for the study. The survey contained questions regarding the basic profile of the student; their assessment on the different Future Skills based on their experience on the assessment and their comments regarding said activity. It lasted for two weeks from 14 to 27 February 2022 and the information was processed through the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The qualitative information was also categorized and analyzed according to recurring themes to provide further explanation of their scores.

4 Results and Discussion

4.1 The University of the Philippines Open University: The Philippines’ “University of the Future”

It was in 1995 when the UPOU became the fifth autonomous campus of the UP System with the mission to provide Filipinos everywhere access to quality higher education through innovative methods of teaching and learning that are designed to be responsive to national development priorities.

The articulation of the University of the Future concept started in 2019 as it recognizes that it should contribute to shape the direction of future revolutions and developments, which can only be achieved by revisiting the essence of universities with regard to core functions in producing graduates who are competent, capable, and skilled enough to face the challenges and opportunities of the future (Bandalaria, 2021).

In a speech by Chancellor Melinda Dela Peña Bandelaria in November 2019, she defined significant thrusts of UPOU in propelling the “University of the Future.” Such terminology pushes relevant concepts of future-ready  degrees and future-ready leaders with ethical and open science perspectives. She has also delineated future-ready  degrees, as they refer to the basic qualifications of training that would allow individuals and learners to undergo career shifts throughout their lifetime, which would eventually serve as pillars for their lifelong learning (Bandalaria, 2021).

The UPOU’s Master of Public Management Program is one of the first programs offered in 1997 via distance learning to assist in democratizing education in the country. It is designed for policymakers, administrators, and managers of public, private, and non-governmental organizations; practitioners in local government and administration; and other individuals interested in good governance, public policy and administration. Thus, it is important to introduce innovations to continuously develop the skills of the learners.

4.2 The Reimagined Assessment Plan

Designing activities and assessment plans is quite challenging in an online set-up with learners not being able to see each other. Hence, the most convenient would be to deploy individual assignments for them to work on it at their own pace and time. However, one of the challenges that was noticeable during the COVID-19 pandemic was the lack of communication and collaboration among public servants. Although the government has called for a “whole of government” approach for various government agencies to address the situation, there have been some hits and misses. Thus, the researcher designed an activity/assessment that enabled learners to work as a team.

Three courses under the MPM Program were selected as part of the study, namely: Theory and Practice of Public Administration (PM201), Public Policy and Program Administration (PM241) and Local Government and Regional Administration (PM251) for the 1st Semester, Academic Year 2021–2022.

The group tasks entailed online collaboration in analyzing public administration issues in the Philippines within the context of national development. The tasks were designed since they are part of the course content which students need to understand.

The mechanics of the assignment were prepared and sent to the students. They were grouped into five to eight participants. Each group chose a coordinator who took care of the communication within and outside the group. Groups also assigned an editor who collected all outputs and integrated them in a cohesive manner. The rest of the group served as researchers.

They were given four weeks to do the task and there was a prescribed weekly activity for them to ensure that the groups will be able to finish on time and upload the output in the forum. All students were encouraged to go over the different outputs and give their comments and feedback to the other groups. They also had the opportunity to complete a peer rating form. The final activity was a 15-minute oral presentation for each team. The entire activity is equivalent to 30% of their total grade wherein 20% comes from the faculty and 10% of the grade is based on peer rating.

In terms of marking the group’s output, the following are the criteria: Content (50%); Organization of thoughts (15%); Writing style (10%); Format (10%); Proper citation (10%) and On-time submission (5%). For the peer rating, the following criteria were followed: Quality of contribution to the process and final output (40%); Willingness to cooperate and communicate to the group (30%); Overall completeness of the tasks performed for the group (30%). Table 19.1 presents the description of the reimagined assessment.

Table 19.1 Description of the Reimagined Assessment. Source: Gervacio (2022)
Full size table

4.3 Profile of the Research Participants

Table 19.2 presents the profile of the respondents. There were 50 students who participated in the survey out of 79 students for PM201, 50 students for PM241, and 27 students for PM251. Most of those who are in PM201 are likely to be enrolled in either PM241 or PM251 as well. Since the survey was conducted one month after the semester had ended, not everyone was able to participate. Out of the 50 students who participated, there were 42 respondents who were in the PM201, 27 students in PM241 and 14 students for PM251.

Table 19.2 Profile of the Research Participants
Full size table

The basic profile of the students was also gathered to know more about the student body. About 74% were female compared to only 26% male. The age of the respondents ranged from 22 to 55 years old and the mean age is 33. About 24% of them are in the age group 30–39 years.

Almost half (46%) of the participants are occupying administrative/clerical positions. This is followed by the technical personnel with 20%. There were also 18% occupying managerial/supervisory positions. Others are either in academia or self-employed.

As regards the category of their offices, more than half (54%) work for the national government. This is followed by those who work at local government units with 16% and those working with private industries with 14%. In terms of the geographical location, 40% of the respondents work in Metro Manila, which is where the capital city is located. This is followed by Luzon which is the largest among the three major islands in the Philippines with 36%. There were four students who are based in other countries. The huge number of students from the urban areas can be attributed to availability of ICT infrastructure. This is one of the reasons why digital learning really depends on the ICT infrastructure of the country.

4.4 Assessment of Future Skills

The research participants were asked to give their perceptions regarding the 17 Future Skills profiles as proposed by Ehlers and Kellermann (2019), keeping in mind the group tasks that were given to them. The rating ranged from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree) that the competency is being met through the assignment. Based on their answers, they all “strongly agreed” that the tasks have enhanced their competencies with “Digital Literacy” given a score of 4.74. This can be attributed to the nature of the task wherein they need to work collaboratively using digital communication.

This is followed by “initiative and performance competence” with 4.70. The task required commitment from each member to accomplish the goal. Hence, there was an effort not to wait but to initiate communication to get the task finished. “Cooperation Competence” was also given a score of 4.68 which is the ability to cooperate and collaborate. The lowest rating is “Future Design Competence” and “Ambiguity competence” with 4.40 each (See Fig. 19.1).

Fig. 19.1
A set of 3 bar graphs depict the organization related, subject development related, and object related perceptions of students on 17 competencies. The object related perception for digital literacy holds the highest value of 4.74.

Perceptions of Students on the 17 Competencies Based on Future Skills

Full size image

Based on the answers, it can be gleaned that the research participants agreed that the collaborative assignment helped develop various Future Skills. It can also be noted that the top three competencies represented the three categories of “object-related,” “subject development-related,” and “organization related.”

4.5 Comments of the Respondents on the Group Task and Future Skills

The survey also included open-ended questions to enable the research participants to share their comments regarding the group task; their experiences and their perceptions about the competencies based on the Future Skills. The following is a summary of the student feedback.

The group task can be a strategy to develop Future Skills. This is the general observation of the students regarding the group task. Some noted that they tried various collaboration strategies and brainstorming that helped them come up with the best strategy on how to do the assignment given the deadlines. Another suggested to include more collaborative tasks in the future since they are effective in enhancing collaborative skills, which, in the actual practice is imperative in working with different agencies/organization towards a common purpose.

One also claimed that the task helped “not to immensely broaden the knowledge but to showcase the individual skills possessed by the students and to discover other skills of which can be applied in the future.” Some noted that the activities have enhanced their analytical skills, improved digital literacy, and increased awareness on the stages of policies specially on the implementation and development.

Some also noted that these competencies (Future Skills) were being enhanced throughout the process of the activity. For example, they had to make sure that their data and information are accurate. Digital skills were also demonstrated through communication and creating the desired output and presentation. One respondent said that “the activities helped me a lot in terms of my writing and research skills.” Some also noted that the group activity was a great tool in practicing camaraderie, interaction, coordination, as well as integration of all learnings since they have no opportunity for face-to-face interaction. Students still somehow get help from each other and refer to each other in terms of output and deadline, among other things through online platforms like Viber. This is also related to the idea of peer learning wherein interaction with other students with their preferred platform can also be beneficial for them.

Based on the feedback and comments from the students, it can be said that collaborative assignments can be an effective way to develop competencies for the future. Moreover, since the assignment entail the use of digital tools, this implies that digital learning also contributed to the success of this activity. The ability to decide on the accuracy of the data was also cited. Time management is also one of the skills which they have developed.

There is a need to increase awareness on futures skills or competences. Based on the comments of the students, they perceived that all these skills are important to face the VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous) world which is also one of the topics discussed in one of their courses. It seems that the survey has also increased their awareness of the competencies that they need not only in their current job but could also prepare them to the demands of their work in the future. The comment that assignments can develop their competences also reveals that this is one aspect that should be explored by educators. Moreover, the Future Skills will enable an individual to become a more productive member of his/her organization and the country.

Collaborative assignments can be designed appropriately to develop competences. Based on the comments from students, it seems that collaborative assignments could be more challenging for online students since there is a higher possibility of non-participation. However, they also find it very important since most tasks nowadays require teamwork and collaboration. It is suggested that roles can be assigned to the students to facilitate the discussion. Moreover, it was also recommended to sustain the peer rating to make sure that only those who participated can have a grade for this activity.

5 Conclusions and Recommendations

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected all sectors of the society and served as a catalyst or game-changer particularly for the government and the education sector. As part of its plan to transition into the new normal, the Philippines has recognized that it will use its experiences in online learning and combine it with face-to-face learning or flexible learning. Moreover, it is also important to highlight the importance of HEIs and their administration in ensuring that reforms will be instituted.

The UPOU as a pioneer in open and distance e-learning (ODeL) is mandated to assist other HEIs on how to use ICT in education. Moreover, it has also acknowledged that the institution must adapt to the fast-changing world as it envisions the concept of the University of the Future.

As such, it has started the articulation of the concept to future-proof its degrees and skills to make learners be able to cope with the future challenges. A corollary to this is the challenge on how to design activities to develop Future Skills of learners. Hence, the MPM Program of the UPOU has redesigned and reimagined its assessment to determine if the Future Skills are being developed.

The study concludes that HEIs play an important role in the development of Future Skills. In the case of the UPOU, it has already articulated the use of digital technology including immersive technologies for skilling and upskilling and at the same time future-readying the degrees. It envisions itself as a lifelong university with the offering of micro-credential courses. In the case of the MPM Programs, it plans to develop its microlearning courses for public servants to be able to improve the delivery of public services and prepare them as well in the challenges that are brought in by the megatrends and the VUCA world.

The study also highlights that assignments can be a strategy to develop Future Skills of students, particularly group assignments. Group assignments enhance learners’ decision-making and task and time management skills. It also allows learners to discern information provided online as well as develop digital skills. As mentioned by Zwart et al. (2020), it is necessary to set the criteria for the task and the rules regarding the online collaboration. This can be evident by the redesigned assignment wherein the criteria for grading were set including the mechanics on how to do the task to develop self-efficacy.

Moreover, digital learning is also an effective tool for learners to interact and communicate with each other that encourages collaborative learning. It also helps in developing learners’ self-efficacy to accept new roles. This is one of the Future Skills identified by Ehlers and Kellermann (2019). Digital learning is also an effective tool for learners to interact and communicate with each other that encourages collaborative learning. It also helps in developing learners’ self-efficacy to accept new roles as showed in the assignment wherein students take roles in the achievement of their assignment.

The study also contributes to the literature on Future Skills of public servants. So far, there has been very little information about the Future Skills of public servants and how to incorporate them in the curricula. Developing their skills is a big step since they are directly implementing policies, programs and projects towards development. They are also aware of the challenges brought about by the VUCA world and this could be addressed better if they are equipped with the competencies required for any disruption in the future.

Finally, this study contributes to the literature that establishes the relationship between digital learning and Future Skills, specifically for the public servants in the context of Southeast Asian region. It is also important to document other experiences in the future to enable Future Skills to be incorporated in the curricula of HEIs.

Future Skills in Practice: Our Recommendations

  • Assignments can be a strategy to develop Future Skills of students, particularly group assignments. Group assignments enhance learners’ decision-making and task and time management skills.

  • Digital learning is an effective tool for learners to interact and communicate with each other that encourages collaborative learning. It also helps in developing learners’ self-efficacy to accept new roles.

  • There is a need to increase awareness on Future Skills, especially for HEIS.

  • There should be studies related to Future Skills specifically for the public servants in the context of Southeast Asian region. It is also important to document other experiences in the future to enable Future Skills to be incorporated in the curricula of HEIs.