Prompt: In today’s job market, it is far more important to have practical skills than theoretical knowledge. In the future, job applicants may not need any formal qualifications. Ċ To what extent do you agree or disagree with this question?

In recent years, practical skills have become more and more important than theoretical knowledge. It is thought that formal credentials might become irrelevant in the future. However, I entirely disagree with this view and think that qualifications will still be valuable in showing a person's abilities. Ċ Firstly, there are many occupations that require specific theoretical knowledge, and whether a candidate has a sufficient level of knowledge can only be determined by formal qualifications that are obtained through taking a course or examination. Qualifications are, for this reason, essential for an applicant to have to show employers that they have the foundation to work in the field and this will still be the case in the coming decades. A good example of this is teaching, where instructions to students must be based on academic knowledge, not just practical skills. Ċ Most qualifications, furthermore, require a person to participate in various types of activities in order to obtain them, which enables them to develop skills that are applicable to real-life work environments. Normally in a course or examinations for qualifications, people are given a variety of tasks where they must show not only knowledge that they can repeat from memory, but also interpersonal skills, logical and analytical thinking and creativity, all of which are useful in a workplace. Therefore, qualifications are usually a strong indicator of the holder's practical skills, thus making them still relevant in the future job market. University degrees, for instance, are obtained by completing several types of assessment, such as essays, group projects and work placement. Ċ In conclusion, I completely disagree with the idea that formal qualifications would be irrelevant. It is crucial that people strive to obtain credentials to gain expertise sought in the occupation.