Vocational Skills vs Liberal Arts Skills

Debate between Liberal Arts and Job Preparation Skills Liberal arts skills and job preparation or vocational skills are the two categories of the eight essential purposes of higher education. These two categories of purposes have had a significant effect on the curriculum of higher education over the years. Liberal arts skills are one of the most important aspects and central purpose of higher education given that it incorporates seven of the eight essential purposes. As compared to the job preparation or vocational skills, liberal arts skills are focused on general education instead of entry to the job market upon graduation from a university/college. It includes instruction in wider, central disciplines like English, Science, Math, and History and is centered on developing skills like critical analysis, problem-solving, and effective oral and written communication. Liberal arts skill is important to the central purpose of why higher education exists in the United States. This is primarily because it emphasizes diversity and dynamism through exposure to a broad range of topics. The exposure is crucial because higher education exists in the U.S. to provide students with a broad knowledge base and detailed understanding of the surrounding world (Conrad & Johnson, 2012).

In light of the significance of liberal arts in the central purpose of the existence of higher education in the United States, UHM Nursing curriculum should focus on liberal arts rather than job preparation/vocational skills. The first compelling reason for the curriculum to focus on liberal arts is that this perspective provides graduates with most valuable attributes that employers are looking for. Employers have found graduates of liberal arts majors with communicative, creative, and problem-solving acumen, which are the most valuable characteristics of new hires (McNutt, 2014). Secondly, UHM Nursing curriculum should focus on liberal arts since this perspective provides students with a wide range of skills as well as comprehensive understanding of the world around them. Unlike job preparation/vocational skills that are centered on practical skills in a specific field, liberal arts enables students to have exposure to different topics in their specific field of work as well as comprehensive understanding of the surrounding world. This broad range of skills is widely applicable and enhances an individual’s ability to adopt in the world around him/her.

Third, such focus is necessary because it will enable UHM to achieve its goal of enabling students to have a well-rounded life that balances academics and a wide liberal arts education (University of Hawai’i M?noa, 2017). One of the major goals of the institution’s nursing programs is to promote the personal and professional development of its students. Therefore, UHM will achieve this through focusing on liberal arts unlike job preparation/vocational skills that are centered on a single line of work. Finally, UHM Nursing curriculum should focus on liberal arts since it will foster success and innovation unlike a specific career-ready degree provided by job-preparation/vocational skills program. The success and innovation is attributable to the wide range of skills provided in liberal arts education.

An example of the provision of valuable attributes that employers are looking for through liberal arts is evident in existing data. Throughout the years, liberal arts programs have been found to generate graduates with valuable acumen beyond their specific field of work, which is essential for employers. The issue of a wide range of skills from liberal arts educational programs is evident in some existing examples in this field. For example, the CEO of Deutsch NY, Val DiFebo stated that he found that graduates from liberal arts educational programs attempt to solve problems and do not rely only on their experiences and skills from school, but a wide-range of skills (McNutt, 2014).

On the third reason, the recruitment strategies by Charles River Associates, a Bolton-based litigation consulting company, demonstrates the balance between academics and a wide range of liberal arts skills. The litigation consulting firm primarily hires graduates from liberal arts educational programs because they not only possess skills from their specific field of interest but also have other liberal arts skills like intellectual curiosity. These graduates tend to have an effective balance between their academics and other skills, which enhances their effectiveness in serving the firm’s clients. In relation to success and innovation, liberal arts has been found to play an important role in this technological age since it promotes the development of instrumental skills unlike vocational skills that are based on a single discipline or line of work. Through these educational programs, students learn how to expand their own world using the instrumental skills, which contributes to success and innovation as shown in existing literature.
The presentation of these four reasons will be presented beginning with less compelling to the most compelling reason. In this regard, the first reason will be that liberal arts enable students/graduates to be well-rounded with regards to balancing academics and wide range of liberal arts skills. The second reason is that liberal arts enable students to achieve success and innovation in their work. The third reason is that liberal arts enables graduates to possess most valuable attributes that employers are looking for beyond their academic qualifications. Finally, liberal arts enable graduates to master a wide range of skills and a comprehensive understanding of their surrounding world.

In conclusion, UHM’s Nursing Program should prioritize liberal arts because of its numerous benefits to graduates. These potential benefits from a focus on liberal arts include fostering success and innovation, having a wide range of skills and valuable skills that employers are looking for, and comprehensive understanding of the surrounding world. In essence, prioritizing liberal arts promotes the development of well-rounded graduates for the job market. On the contrary, prioritizing job preparation or vocational skills in UHM’s Nursing Program could have potential implications like generating students without the other valuable attributes that employers are looking for. In this regard, such measures would result in generation of graduates who are limited in terms of their abilities since they do not possess a wide range of skills that are necessary for effectiveness in the workplace.



References
Conrad, C.F. & Johnson, J. (eds). (2012). College & university curriculum: Placing learning at the epicenter of courses, programs and institutions (2nd ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Custom Publishing.
McNutt, M.I. (2014, September 22). There Is Value in Liberal Arts Education, Employers Say. US News. Retrieved September 21, 2017, from https://www.usnews.com/news/college-of-tomorrow/articles/2014/09/22/there-is-value-in-liberal-arts-education-employers-say
University of Hawai’i M?noa. (2017). Pre-Nursing at UH M?noa. Retrieved from University of Hawai’i M?noa website: http://manoa.hawaii.edu/undergrad/pac/health/health-nursing/