A growing trend across the nation shows schools making significant efforts to connect students to potential career pathways. Recent studies show it soon might be the primary way to address the needs of an evolving job market and work force as fractures in candidate-company alignment continue to develop.
Maryland, along with many other states, have invested millions to implement more robust programing to get students career-ready during high school. But a growing wave of misalignment between candidates and companies is developing rapidly, with consultancies reporting that 70 – 75 percent of companies globally having challenges filling roles according to a Forbes article. That same report cited an Employ Inc. survey saying 81 percent of recruitment professionals responded that filing roles is uniquely challenging in the current climate. While these realities present real-world challenges for school administrators looking to build out effective programs, the studies also offer insights as to why these gaps exist, with some evidence suggesting that the existence of the programs in schools might be imperative in order to bridge the growing divide.
In terms of the reported challenges schools have been able to make a difference on, matching curriculum and skills with job trends, particularly in a specific market, is one of them. Employers have been citing that skills do not match the need, but some ground is being gained in this area according to a recent Education Week article. They highlighted programs in Indiana, Delaware, and more, that are making great strides. The report listed six major ways schools can do this:
- Proactively build relationships with local businesses
- Get creative about fitting experiential learning into students’ schedules
- Consider what career pathways students want to pursue
- Ensure that staff can advise students on career pathway options
- Establish expectations for business partners and students
- Inform students and parents that career pathways broaden, not limit, future options
These strategies are showing promise not only to inform students about different careers and align their training with real world opportunities, but, in many cases, actually get them connected to, and hands-on experience with, some of the actual companies that most interest them.
These types of initiatives are shown to facilitate better transitions into careers, longer retention periods, and greater satisfaction for employees and employers. The most effective schools find ways to weave a continuous stream of career experiences—career exploration and skills-based courses, resume workshops, career days, and targeted internships—directly into their academic programs. The more exposure students get, the greater the impact, particularly for students from historically disadvantaged backgrounds.
Another challenge employers are reporting, and that schools could impact is work readiness in the area of soft skills. These are the kinds of skills necessary to function effectively in a professional work environment such as communication, teamwork, punctuality, and problem-solving. So while, the suggestions from the Education Week article are useful, underestimating the importance of actively honing soft skills in schools could jeopardize a students transition and longevity in a career or even at a particular workplace.
These efforts though do not address all of the challenges and misalignments that the workforce reports are showing. One of the major problems, which schools certainly can not fix, is that significant numbers of employees are retiring while the candidates coming behind them have not followed similar career paths. Additionally, not only are there less candidates interested in or capable of doing the available jobs, but, due to declining birth rates, there are simply less candidates to go around all together. The US Chamber of Commerce reported that there are only 71 workers for every 100 jobs.
Another factor outside of the schools control that is working against a smooth student to career transition is that the wage and conditions many companies are offering tend to be untenable compared to what younger candidate pools are demanding. This is coupled with a desire to not just work the job that you need but – a growing trend among younger generations – to work at a job that they want. How schools can work towards expectation management on both ends is yet to be seen.
A final variable with little school influence is the massive shift towards AI-generated resumes and job hunting applications colliding with AI-powered vetting programs that are trying to figure out what they are even dealing with on either end of the equation. The question of whether those programs are even doing the tasks accurately and effectively, before either party moves on to an upgraded or evolved model of those resources is also unclear, complicating an already challenging era for employment markets globally. How schools bolster literacy for students on how to leverage it themselves along with helping them understand how companies are using AI would be a major feat. Particularly because these are applications and programs that are changing every day in terms of how they work and how people and companies use them.
