What Employers Want Most and Get Least from

Grads

SXSWedu Session Submission

What you need to know

• Almost half of recent grads are underemployed – over 60% for some majors

• Yet, employers say skills gaps are a leading cause of entry-level vacancies

• The skills employers want most have very little to do with knowledge acquisition

• Colleges, employers, and third parties are responding with innovative, hands-on solutions

Almost half of recent grads are underemployed

Source: Are Recent College Graduates Finding Good Jobs? Jaison R. Abel, Richard Deitz, and Yaqin Su. Federal Reserve Bank of New York in Current Issues in Economics and Finance, Volume 20, Issue 1, 2014.

The underemployment rate of recent grads was 44% in 2012, up from 34% in 2001

Underemployment varies significantly by major

Source: Are Recent College Graduates Finding Good Jobs? Jaison R. Abel, Richard Deitz, and Yaqin Su. Federal Reserve Bank of New York in Current Issues in Economics and Finance, Volume 20, Issue 1, 2014.

Criminal Justice

Business Management & Administration

Health Care Administration

General Studies

Sociology

English Language & Literature

Graphic Design

Liberal Arts

Education

Psychology

62.4%

60.0%

57.6%

54.5%

52.5%

52.1%

51.5%

50.3%

50.0%

49.5%

Top self-reported under-employed majors

Source: PayScale.com, 2014

Where are the underemployed working?

Source: PayScale.com, 2014

Patient Services Representative

Nanny

Retail Sales Associate

Cashier

Teacher Assistant

Daycare Teacher

Data Entry Operator

Sales Associate

Assistant Property Manager

Warehouse Worker

Personal Assistant

Orderly

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

87%

78%

78%

77%

76%

76%

73%

73%

72%

71%

71%

70%

Jobs with the highest percent of self-reported underemployment

Median pay

$29.5k

$26.7k

$20.9k

$18.0k

$21.3k

$21.5k

$25.6k

$21.5k

$21.7k

$36.5k

$26.4k

$33.2k

Where do employers wish they were working?

Source: PayScale.com, 2014

Marketing Finance Customer Service Executive Level Sales Engineering Management IT0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

6%7%

10% 10%

15%

18% 18%

22%

What kind of positions do employers have a hard time filling?

Employers blame skills gaps for vacancies and would pay more for the right talent

Source: McKinsey & Company, “Education to Employment: Designing a System That Works,” 2013

Educators, employers, and students disagree on how well grads are being prepared for work

Source: McKinsey & Company, “Education to Employment: Designing a System That Works,” 2013

The skills employers want most have very little to do with knowledge acquisition

Source: McKinsey & Company, “Education to Employment: Designing a System That Works,” 2013

The Koru5 Competencies – what employers say distinguishes early-career hires:

1. Grit: Is tenacious and resilient in fast-paced, ambiguous environments

2. Business Impact: Communicates effectively and collaborates with diverse teams

3. Rigor: Prioritizes time and actions to drive business value

4. Professionalism: Is authentic and confident across business settings

5. Ownership: Takes initiative in service of others

Source: Koru employer interviews

Colleges, employers, and third parties are responding with innovative, hands-on solutions

Source: McKinsey & Company, “Education to Employment: Designing a System That Works,” 2013

Strategies to provide students applied learning opportunities:

1. Experiential and service learning (e.g., study abroad)

2. Applied capstone projects

3. Undergraduate research (e.g., College of Wooster)

4. Bridge programs (e.g., Koru, Tuck Business Bridge, Coro Fellowship)

5. Funded internship programs (e.g., Connecticut College, Mount Holyoke College)

Source: Expanded from AAC&U’s high impact practices