Today’s employers are hiring for skills beyond technical, domain-specific competencies. Skills such as resilience, critical thinking and collaborative working are becoming more valuable in the work environment today, even as they are being transformed by AI.
With over 20 years of experience in higher education, John Allan, head of impact and breakthrough learning at PGL Beyond, believes that experiential learning and short-term study trips are an effective way for universities to address skills gaps – and they can be transformative for student development.
“Universities have a part to play in building essential life skills by incorporating them into academic modules,” says Allan, who is also a visiting fellow at Sheffield Hallam University. “A great way of doing this is through travelling and exploratory learning. The experiential nature of trips enables students’ development from being immersed within a real-life environment,” he says.
Allan references a 2025 study conducted by the Harvard Business Review, which revealed the importance of essential life skills that impact graduate employability and future success. An analysis of over a thousand occupations revealed that those people who score highly on skills like collaboration and adaptability earn higher wages, learn specialised skills more readily, progress in their careers and are more resilient to industry changes.
“A lot of employers are becoming concerned that young people coming out of education, whether that’s further or higher education, are lacking in essential skill sets that enable them to transition into the workplace effectively,” says Allan.
Part of PGL Beyond, StudyLink Tours is a leading student group travel specialist that supports higher education institutions in organising educational travel to destinations around the world. It offers custom group travel packages with subject-linked itineraries for students from different disciplines.
StudyLink Tours gives students the opportunity to apply academic learning in practical settings and engage with other cultures. Trips usually last anywhere from a few days to three weeks, but they can be tailored according to institutions’ needs and preferences. “I’ve taken students on two-day residentials that were highly impactful,” says Allan.
Short-term student travel offers an effective way to provide students with meaningful practical exposure in a short space of time. Even a few days abroad can give students a fresh perspective. “It’s not this idea of jumping out of your comfort zone – it’s about broadening it,” says Allan.
Universities may consider study trips as another expense at a time when budgets are limited. However, Allan argues that institutions should view them as an investment in building resilience, confidence and a sense of belonging in students, helping them persist through their studies in the face of inevitable challenges. The bespoke short-term trips offered by StudyLink Tours are also more financially accessible for students than a year abroad and other exchange programmes.
For universities, such experiences add value in terms of student retention and engagement, Allan says. “If you invest in these tours and opportunities to take students into a more experiential learning environment, the likelihood is you’re going to retain them, invigorate them and get them performing more competently.”
Find out more about StudyLink Tours.
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