Eighty-five (85%) of the jobs today’s students will be doing in 2030 haven’t been invented yet.
Institute for the Future

Now, let’s look at university graduates’ marketability? Why are so many Gen-Zer’s and millennials unemployed or simply underemployed? One major reason is many recent college graduates are simply not prepared for work. They are not FOW-ready or work-ready. Gartner, the consulting organization, said:

“Only 20 percent of employees have the skills needed for both their current role and their future career”.

I wondered what was going on? The Gallup Organization exposed another part of the story: “While 96% of chief academic officers of colleges and universities believe that their institutions are very or somewhat effective at preparing students for the workforce, only 11% of business leaders strongly agree.”

Story: The table below reveals the Employer (top bar) vs. Student (bottom bar) perceptions of work competencies including career management, professionalism, critical thinking, written communications, leadership, and teamwork.61 The figure explains why many of today’s university graduates are unemployed and underemployed.

Work Lesson Earned: Check out and rate yourself on each of the above work competencies. Then, ask your buddies or boss how they see and rate you in each competency?

Post-COVID, professors, graduates, and employers will have to readjust their beliefs and behaviors regarding income expectations, career management, ethics, and communications unless they can close the above work competency gaps.