Employers throughout the country are concerned about whether college graduates are ready to meet their employment needs. 40% of employers believe that post-secondary institutions do not adequately prepare graduates for the workforce, with 7% of that total believing that post-grads are “not prepared at all” for work, according to a YouScience report. As a result, 86% of workforce providers invested training into new talent to get them up to speed.
A number of other factors contribute to the decrease, such as an aging workforce and affordability issues, leaving businesses in a pickle when trying to fill their rolls with fresh talent. For example, 40% of businesses have vacancies that they are unable to fill, according to YouScience. Further, there are 8.2 million job openings, but only 7.2 million unemployed workers. There is an obvious gap companies are facing in filling their rolls with qualified talent — young or old.
This readiness gap and shrinkage of the qualified talent pool points to a disconnect in the pipeline between post-secondary education and employers. Without a course correction, it seems that both industry and universities will face financial and operational difficulties in the future. Specifically, the YouScience study skews heavily to both the construction and healthcare industries in its survey respondents. The results beg the question of whether the decrease in overall talent is more the result of a shrinking workforce or a decline in college-grad readiness.
Overall, it is a combination of these factors that lead to an unready workforce, but the issues in the educational preparedness pipeline are of utmost importance. There must be a greater focus on preparing college graduates to meet industry needs rather than reintegrating unemployed individuals back into the workforce. This is because persuading qualified individuals to seek reemployment is a complicated task, involving a range of factors, such as access to reliable and affordable childcare, worker compensation and more. It is unlikely that all of these factors can be addressed in a timely manner.
To effectively and quickly change workforce readiness and availability for companies, there must be a greater focus on rebuilding the severed ties between colleges and employers. Secondary and post-secondary institutions must rework their curriculum to ensure students are prepared for the workforce.
90% of companies polled believed that partnerships between schools and companies were necessary to increase post-grad readiness, according to YouScience. Thus, it seems to be in the interest of both industries and educational institutions to work together to align curriculum with industry needs. This will ensure the long-term financial and programmatic success of both, while providing successful paths for young students and future employees.
While this proposed change in curriculum has a range of benefits, its implementation will not be easy. To begin with, school structure — particularly at the high school level — is often rigid, and full of red tape. A variety of factors, including state laws, local school district funding and school board decisions, limit the number of curriculum changes that can be made, according to iScalePro. Thus, even with the desire to change curriculum, there is a range of institutional stakeholders that may limit schools from making efficient changes to their curriculum.
Additionally, college and high school coursework is known to prioritize theory over applicability, according to iScalePro. While theory is an important precursor to application and may enhance critical thinking skills, coursework that is too grounded in rigorous academic theory makes it difficult for students to engage in actively applying their learning.
Instead of exam-heavy semesters, schools could focus on partnership with local community organizations focusing on long-term projects with real world experience rather than tests based on theory, or combine both schools of thought for a schedule mixed with exams and real world experience.
The high school and college academic experience also focuses more on knowledge acquisition rather than the development of soft skills, like communication and teamwork, according to iScalePro. Without the necessary soft skills, the knowledge one gains is useless to students attempting to work in a professional environment. Again, projects that require collaboration with not only students, but also community organizations, will help students develop the skills necessary to work with a diverse array of individuals.
So, while employers face a shortage of qualified talent, both young and old, this does not have to be a lagging issue. And while changing the above mentioned issues with academic coursework will not be easy, it will help to make schools more competitive with prospective students and students more competitive in the job market, while helping businesses streamline their efficiency with a ready and talented workforce.
Andreas Scocos ([email protected]) is a senior majoring in political science with a minor in environmental studies.
