[CommonWealth Magazine] Fearless of 800 Million Jobs Being Replaced, KUMON Helps Children Confidently Face the Future
Global top consulting firm McKinsey predicts that by 2030, 400 to 800 million jobs worldwide will be replaced by automation technology. The next generation will face a world that is hard to imagine at this moment.
In June this year, McKinsey analyzed the essential skills for talent from 18,000 workers across 15 countries, including critical thinking, communication, and time and project management. This aligns perfectly with the actions taken by KUMON, which has deeply rooted its presence in Taiwan and is spread across 57 countries worldwide.
Zhao Wen-yu, Chairman of Kon Mon Cultural Company, the general agent for KUMON in Taiwan, stated, "Amid the pandemic, the pace of daily learning remains the same as before—this is the greatest gift KUMON gives to children!"
British Prime Minister Winston Churchill once said: "Never waste a good crisis!" As Taiwan gradually sees the light at the end of the pandemic tunnel, education has also undergone disruptive innovation. The digital learning revolution is not just about moving teaching online, but also about changing the essence and purpose of education. Under Zhao Wen-yu's leadership, KUMON started preparing a team of eight in January this year to develop the Taiwanese KUMON model, drawing from experiences in other countries.
"We are lucky to be able to learn from KUMON's experiences in other countries. For Taiwan's KUMON, one-third of the students are preschoolers, so during the simulation, we used this group as the target audience. We created manuals, learning plans, and used the Zoom video conferencing platform for online tutoring. When the local outbreak occurred in May, KUMON ensured that children did not stop learning, and teachers could continue to observe the students' learning progress. After fully implementing Zoom, teachers were able to provide cloud-based support!" Zhao Wen-yu recalled.
This collaborative effort in transformative education has strengthened the cooperation of over 160 full-time KUMON teachers across Taiwan. Zhao Wen-yu emphasized that KUMON is not an online education platform where children learn independently. Rather, it is a practice of "home learning and online tutoring." KUMON teachers must focus on how each child solves problems, think critically, and identify mistakes, providing personalized guidance and arranging customized learning plans. Unlike most online education platforms, where learning stops once the screen is turned off, KUMON ensures that children truly absorb the material and make learning a habit.