Thought Leadership
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Expectations for career readiness are rising in tandem with college costs. When looking at colleges, three-quarters of high school students say services to help with postgraduate education and careers are among the most important things they look for in a school.1 It's clear that higher education needs to do more to equip students for today’s and tomorrow’s job market.
Universities and colleges nationwide are taking bolder steps to do so. They're launching postgraduate readiness programs and forming strategic partnerships to ensure workforce readiness. These initiatives are transforming higher education, making it a valuable investment by aligning education with market needs.
As skills in demand change and tuition costs rise, students seek a stronger return for their time and money. To answer this concern, universities are putting a stronger emphasis on teaching in-demand skills and addressing workforce shortages. This should come as no surprise. Institutes of higher learning are uniquely positioned to also become known as institutions of workforce readiness.
Leading institutions have enhanced their academic programs in key ways. For example, many now offer professional credentialing and licensing preparation and courses that develop soft skills. This holistic approach ensures that graduates are well-rounded and well-prepared for life after graduation.
Innovative schools use initiatives and partnerships to tear down students' barriers to career readiness. These include:
Universal, Free Access to Test Prep Resources: Schools like Hampton University, Spelman College, and Stillman College provide all students with universal access to test prep for postgraduate education and career credentialing and licensing. One global university has found that these initiatives particularly benefit low-income, first-generation, and rural students who often need help affording the costs associated with exam prep.
Direct Partnerships with Employers and Industry Experts: By collaborating with employers and industry experts, schools ensure their programs are aligned with the changing job market and improve employability for graduates. For instance, one college is using external job intelligence to inform joint degree/certification programs.
Programs to Encourage Student Drop-Outs to Return: Schools are creating specific programs to improve student retention by encouraging students who dropped out for financial reasons to return. One institution, for example, is focusing its programs on credentialing and licensing rather than on degrees. It wants to improve workforce readiness and enable re-entry students to transition back into the workforce quickly.
Source: The American Association of Colleges and Universities How College Contributes to Workforce Success: Employer Views on What Matters Most
As technologies like artificial intelligence help automate repetitive and data-intensive tasks, employers increasingly seek employees who combine soft skills such as critical thinking, teamwork, resilience, and confidence with the requisite hard, technical skills. Universities and colleges are helping to close the soft-skill competency gap and adequately prepare students for the professional world, for example:
Developing Strong, Local Employer Networks: Facilitating more accessible internship placements. One institution with a large work-study population and many students who stay local after graduation find these opportunities beneficial—not just for students but also for the local economy.
Ensuring Paid Internships: Boosting real-world experience. Many schools seek paid internships as a benefit for all students, but they particularly view them as an equalizer because it enables students from lower economic backgrounds to participate.
Offering Courses in Career Readiness: Leveraging partnerships to provide essential, individual soft skills training such as critical thinking, resilience, and “new hire” confidence. For example, programs such as “Critical Thinking Foundations” build the skills needed to understand complex issues, improve performance, and achieve personal and professional goals.
Source: The National Association of Colleges and Employers’ 2024 Job Outlook Survey
Institutions of higher education are well positioned to prepare the future workforce. And many universities and colleges have become incubators for programs to enhance critical career skills as well as to minimize other barriers to employment. They:
Forge strong partnerships with employers and industry leaders to ensure students gain both technical and soft skills
Offer real-world experiences, such as paid internships, and use industry collaborations to prepare students for immediate employment and future career growth
Provide universal access to credentialing, licensing, and professional school test prep to break down barriers to postgraduate opportunities
In these ways, higher education is shrinking the divide between education and employment, and empowering students to thrive in a rapidly changing job market.
1Value of Post Graduation Readiness Services, Kaplan, May 2024.
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