Lyndon Stratford/iStock/Getty Images Plus
Two in five employers believe that schools are not adequately preparing students for jobs in their industries, according to new data from YouScience.
The findings highlight a growing gap between traditional education models and workforce needs, leaving students ill-prepared to fill available roles in the job market.
YouScience’s “2024 Workforce Report: Fixing America’s Broken Talent Pipeline” highlights employers’ hiring needs, perceptions of student job readiness and preferences for academic degrees versus practical, on-the-job training.
How to do it
YouScience, with help from SurveyMonkey, in September surveyed 500 human resources professionals and business leaders across high-demand sectors, including construction, technology, manufacturing, health care and social assistance, and education services.
Preparing employees: In all industries, employers are struggling to hire qualified people; 38 percent of respondents said that their biggest concern was finding students with the right skills or that there is not enough alignment between academic results and industry needs.
40 percent of respondents said schools—both K-12 and postsecondary—are not adequately preparing students for work in their industry, and the same number (37 percent) said the readiness of incoming talent has not improved—or decreased—over the past five years.
Employers say they are the ones who help raise the quality of students; 86 percent say entry-level talent needs at least a “moderate amount” of additional training to succeed. More than a quarter of respondents said talent needs “a lot” of additional training to be successful in their role.
The survey confirmed the trend of skill-based hiring, too. When hiring entry-level talent, 31 percent of employers say that work experience is more important to them than academic qualifications. Employers in finance and insurance, health care and social assistance are more likely to choose hands-on experience. Fifty-eight percent of respondents reported that educational background and work experience were equally important.
When asked what kind of skills they value (soft vs. technical), 47 percent said both skills are equally important, while 31 percent ranked soft skills higher and 22 percent ranked technical skills.
Construction methods: A majority of respondents (90 percent) said that stronger partnerships between K-12 schools and postsecondary institutions can help develop their long-term talent pipelines, and 78 percent believe that work-based learning and industry certifications are important in preparing new talent.
According to employers, the best ways schools can better prepare students for the workforce are:
- To increase hands-on learning,
- Developing soft skills training,
- Increasing focus on industry specific skills/alignment skills and market needs, as well
- Personalize career counseling and guidance.
In addition, businesses should communicate with potential talent early, before graduating from high school or college, according to the report: “Communicating with students early can improve recruitment efforts and develop pipelines of sustainable skills, which is especially important in sectors facing talent shortages, such as. such as manufacturing, health care and information technology.”
Just under two-thirds (63 percent) of employers wait to interview students after high school, during college or after college, with only one quarter contacting students during high school. Previous research by YouScience shows that K-12 is the best time to start career exploration, because it makes students more confident in their ability to make informed decisions.
More employers also said they are considering hiring talent in other ways, including apprenticeships, vocational schools and trade schools, but most high school students have no knowledge of career and technical education programs or similar opportunities.
Do you have a career preparation tip that can help others promote student success? Tell us about it.
Source link
