The fact that the depreciation of academic qualifications in China has become more pronounced is deeply poignant. Unemployment has become the norm for college graduates, and the challenge of the future is that the rewards of academic qualifications are likely to be lower and lower. Many jobs are no longer for young people, but tend to use technologies such as artificial intelligence to replace manpower. This marks the end of the era of personal breakthroughs by going to university.
The root causes of the depreciation of academic qualifications in China can be traced back to a number of aspects. First of all, the implementation of the university enrollment expansion policy has led to a significant increase in the number of graduates, and the market demand has not kept up with this growth. As a result, a large number of graduates are forced to face a highly competitive job market and a lack of job opportunities. Second, the phenomenon of over-emphasizing academic qualifications and ignoring actual abilities has also exacerbated the trend of depreciation of academic qualifications. Many companies prefer to hire people with real-world work experience and skills rather than just a degree. In addition, with the rapid development of artificial intelligence and automation technology, many traditional jobs are gradually being replaced by machines, which further weakens the demand for human resources.
Despite the severity of the current situation, we must also recognize that academic qualifications are not useless. Especially in some professional fields, such as medicine, law, engineering, etc., academic qualifications still have a high gold content, because these fields have relatively high requirements for professional knowledge and skills, and it is difficult to be replaced by simple technology. In addition, university education is not only to obtain a diploma, but more importantly, to cultivate students' comprehensive quality and thinking ability. This kind of comprehensive quality and thinking ability will still have important value in the future social competition.
In the face of the challenge of depreciation of academic qualifications, we need to take corresponding measures to deal with it. First, the education system needs to be reformed to focus on cultivating students' practical abilities and sense of innovation, rather than simply pursuing the rate of admission and academic qualifications. Second, the government should increase its support for technological innovation and industrial upgrading to provide more employment opportunities for college students. In addition, individuals should constantly upgrade their skills and knowledge to cope with the changes in the future job market.
In the current context of the devaluation of academic qualifications, we need to look at education and employment with a more open mind.
First of all, education should not be limited to the traditional teaching of academic knowledge, but should pay more attention to the cultivation of students' practical ability and innovative thinking. This means that schools need to work more with industry to provide internships and project practice so that students can gain experience and skills in real-world work.
Second, the job market needs to be more accepting of people with non-traditional academic backgrounds. Talent selection should not only focus on degree certificates, but should pay more attention to the actual ability and potential of individuals. This will require companies and recruiters to shift their mindset and focus more on a candidate's skills, experience and adaptability, rather than relying solely on academic qualifications.
At the same time, the government has a responsibility to formulate policies to encourage companies to provide more training opportunities to help employees continuously improve their skills and adapt to changes in the market. In addition, the government can also increase its support for innovative enterprises and emerging industries, bringing more diversified opportunities to the job market and allowing talent to reach their potential.
In short, there is a trend towards a depreciation of academic qualifications, but this does not mean that university education is no longer meaningful. Instead, we should recognise that academic qualifications still have some value, but at the same time, we need to realize that academic qualifications alone do not equate to competence and success. Only by continuously improving their comprehensive quality and adaptability can they stand out in the fierce competition.