But there are others where students don’t have access to this kind of thing. The pandemic evidenced, especially in Latin American countries, digital gaps, educational gaps, inequality and lack of opportunities. “It is a reality that quality in some aspects has been impacted.”
According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), in 2020 students at all educational levels lost 1.5 years of schooling due to Covid-19.
In theory, students between the ages of 18 and 24 would be better prepared than millennials because they were born with technology, says Tomás Rosales Mendieta, professor at the Faculty of Accounting and Administration of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). In practice, one in five young people did not have the resources to take classes online.
During the Eighth International Congress on Educational Innovation 2021, David Garza, rector of the Tecnológico de Monterrey, assured that socio-emotional problems in young people were not born with the coronavirus, but they did accelerate.
“At the end of the day the student is growing in different dimensions: intellectual, emotional, social, etc. And all these elements were affected, so that today mental health and well-being is one of the challenges that we are going to face from the academy”.
In fact, dropping out or postponing college due to mental health was an option for many young people. According to Unicef, 73% of Latinos between the ages of 13 and 29 felt the need to ask for help regarding their well-being. The most common problems were despair, difficulty sleeping, inability to concentrate, loneliness, depression, mental and emotional exhaustion.
In this scenario, what do university students want? In a survey that Times Higher Education (THE) Through students’ eyes surveyed 2,217 higher education students and prospects around the world last year found that 82% of prospective students prefer their chosen university to advertise that it will teach in-person rather than 100% online.
The other side of the coin
The Anahuac academic shares another reading. In the adaptation process to teach certain subjects through Zoom or Teams, she reaffirmed that the new generations are digital natives who have the ability to handle any platform. And although the majority of future students are optimistic about the idea of having face-to-face classes, the truth is that there is also a bias towards hybrid education.
Three years ago, it was unthinkable for employees to be away from the office and students away from the classroom, says José María Pertusa, co-director of the automated recruitment company Apli. “Now, somewhat out of obligation due to the pandemic, we realize that none of it was absolute and that, in fact, there are many advantages to working and learning remotely.”
The experts consulted agree that the trend to follow is to find a balance in which education continues remotely or hybridly, since these schemes have great advantages in terms of effectiveness and time savings, without neglecting the organization of face-to-face activities for recover and encourage human connection and the adoption of social skills.
Estrella Vázquez, general director of the Factor RH consultancy and a specialist in human capital development, affirms that learning online provides digital skills that are highly valued among recruiters today.
On the other hand, to obtain a job there is usually no distinction as to whether the applicant for a vacancy studied online or in person because in these processes the aim is not only to ensure technical knowledge, but also alignment with the culture, values and skills for the position. But it all depends on the employing company.
Recently, Apli created an algorithm for hiring software developers in which distance or face-to-face learning was one of the factors that were evaluated in the selection model, since the employer was looking for a self-taught person. “It is a very concrete example, in most cases the learning modality is not a predictive factor for the selection of the best candidates”.
This type of distinction has not happened to Vázquez either. What the expert has seen is that there is a paradigm that recent graduates are malleable and companies make them their way. “It is not that they are malleable, they are people who have a lot to contribute precisely because of the energy they bring, they come very fresh and they are excited to have that first job contact. Thats why he engagement What you can do with this talent is huge.”
However, the specialist warns that recruiters should pay close attention to the level of commitment of new talent, since for them flexibility is not negotiable. The type of company also matters a lot, she says. “Some continue to believe that bringing in young talent is bringing in ‘cheap talent.’ And that is super bad because there it is seen that you are not wanting to develop, but that you are only looking for someone to do the job for you.