Nearly everybody’s going to college — two-year or four-year — but many graduates aren’t really ready to work, writes Julian Alssid of Workforce Strategy Center on the Huffington Post. Employers complain that graduates with academic training lack practical skills.
He cites a Florida report that found community college graduates with career-focused certificates and degrees earn more on average than state university graduates with bachelor’s degrees in their first year out of college. “Graduating with workforce-ready skills” appears to explain the strong earnings, reports the Miami Herald.
With the unprecedented focus on boosting college completion rates, there must be equal emphasis on graduating students with workforce-ready skills.
There are plenty of models out there at all levels of higher education. The Semester in Washington Journalism Program at The George Washington University, for example, challenges visiting college journalists and media students who spend an intensive semester in professional internships, which is complemented by a rigorous academic companion course that prepares them for today’s media world. The Bioscience & Biotechnology Program at The City University of New York’s Hunter College has been turning out graduates who have both the knowledge and skills to transition directly into bioscience and biotech careers.
Twenty education innovators discussed career readiness at a Jobs For the Future meeting recently, Alssid writes. “We have a rare opportunity to focus the national discussion on not just completing the degree but what degree people complete.”
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at 8:40 am
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Meg Flynn, Joanne Jacobs. Joanne Jacobs said: Blog: Grads need to be work-ready http://communitycollegespotlight.org/content/grads-need-to-be-work-ready_3305/ [...]
at 10:37 am
[...] on Spotlight: Nearly everybody’s going to college these days, but many graduates aren’t ready for the workforce, writes Julian Alssid of Workforce Strategy [...]
at 11:02 pm
Research from the National Association of Colleges and Employers recently showed that companies expect to hire 15 more new college graduates than last year. With record numbers of baby boomers leaving the workforce many organizations are turning to college campuses to seek fresh recruits. Many new college graduates may have gained specific knowledge pertaining to their field or major.