The Gap Between Higher Education and Work by Galib Mammad

The way that the education system works currently might be very outdated. People go to school for somewhere between thirteen and twenty years, depending on what type of degree they are going after once they finish high school. After this, they’re expected to be in the workforce for roughly forty-five years or so. The United States has a problem, and many college graduates are still struggling to find work in their chosen fields.

Currently, reports are saying that nearly forty percent of recent college graduates are either unemployed or underemployed. Despite this, there are actually more jobs in America that need to be done than people who are looking for jobs. There’s a skill gap in this country that prevents those jobs from being filled. There also seems to be a problem with the education system, not teaching the skills that are in demand. This gap between higher education and work makes it difficult for America to prosper.

What Is the Solution?

Companies are starting to realize that there are problems with relying on the old way of doing things. In the past, companies used to wait for new workers to come down the pipeline. A certain number of skilled graduates would appear, and this would give them a pool of workers to hire from. There are no guarantees that enough graduates with the proper skills will appear, and this causes companies to have to change their philosophies.

Many are turning to teaching existing employees the new skills that they need to take on new jobs. This is sometimes referred to as “reskilling” or “upskilling” by people in the industry. Employers are now becoming educators out of necessity. The jobs need to be done, and people need to have a way to learn the necessary skills to perform the jobs.

Moving forward, the educational institutions in America need to start thinking about how to close that gap between higher education and work. Changing the things that are being taught, and focusing on career paths that are in demand will be helpful. It’s tough to figure out exactly how to fix a problem such as this, but it is something that can be done over time. Merging education and work can change things significantly.

A Look to the Potential Future

In the future, you will likely see more universities offering co-ops that will involve semester-stretching work experiences. It will allow students to get practical experience in the line of work that they have chosen. Education will be blended with work experiences, and the gap will start to shrink. This is how the problem will be solved, and colleges will move toward a model such as this for degree paths such as liberal arts as well.