education to employment: Are we ready? |
This article discusses what employers are looking for in university graduates and what specific skills employees are lacking in the science/technology industry and the communication/media industry.
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Take it back to the 1950’s and 1960’s when the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the National Science Foundation (NFS) were established.
The NEH wrote: “If the interdependence of science and the humanities were more generally understood, men would be more likely to become masters of their technology and not its unthinking servants.”
If organizations, like the NEH, have known about this for more than 50 years, why hasn’t the educational system been brought up to date?
It’s because since the 1980’s, political rhetoric emphasizes the need for less liberal arts and more Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) education, according to Nextgov, produced by Government Executive Media Group, the most trusted information resource serving senior decision makers in government.
For example, Florida’s Gov. Rick Scott said in an interview on The Marc Bernier Show that Florida doesn't need: "more anthropologists in this state. It's a great degree if people want to get it. But we don't need them here.”
He continued: “I want to spend our money getting people science, technology, engineering and math degrees. That's what our kids need to focus all of their time and attention on: Those type of degrees that when they get out of school, they can get a job."
Interesting Scott mentions STEM is what will get students jobs, because employers have a different perspective, according to the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AACU).
A study done in 2013, surveyed more than 300 employers including owners, chief executive officers, presidents and vice presidents at private sector and nonprofit organizations.
The results stated that employers value critical thinking and problem solving over a college major. Key findings stated that, regardless of major: “80 percent of employers agree … every college student should acquire broad knowledge in the liberal arts and sciences.”
Separating the two fields ignores the fact that we live in a complex social and cultural world.
Needs have changed, and this should encourage the educational system to adapt accordingly to produce skilled workers for twenty-first century jobs. The Industrial Revolution is behind us, and to produce assembly line laborers out of college is backwards thinking.
“Employers say that recent graduates often don't know how to communicate effectively, and struggle with adapting, problem-solving and making decisions,” according to the Chronicle of Higher Education and American Public Media’s Marketplace report.
Surveyed were 50,000 employers who hire recent college graduates. The Chronicle hoped to understand perceptions employers have of colleges and universities in career preparation.
The results show that employer’s from science/technology, media/communications and manufacturing industries have the most difficult time finding qualified college graduates. On a one to five scale (five being most difficult), employers gave science/technology graduates a 3.75, and not far behind was media/communications with a 3.57.
How are colleges falling behind in educating future employees?
For science/technology graduates, it is their written and communication skills, followed by technical skills relating to the job. For the media/communications industry the problem categories are decision-making and technical skills.
Colleges can improve on this by bridging the gap in education. Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences focus on lasting challenges of creating lives with purpose and meaning. STEM understands how the world systematically works and provides exact solutions.
To have students with knowledge in both disciplines can provide effective communication solutions that appreciate diversity and complexity and potentially overcome adversity.
A successful venture capitalist, Marc Andreessen, believes in the importance of a college education, but to him STEM holds more value than the “softer stuff,” like English.
"I'm sure it's fun, but the average college graduate with a degree in something like English is going to end up working in a shoe store,” said Andreessen.
For an industry to be successful, it requires leadership skills, social and emotional intelligence, cultural understanding, a capacity for strategic decision-making and a global perspective. All things a Liberal Arts education can provide.
To counter Andreessen, some of the country’s most successful and creative people are educated in “soft” disciplines.
Business Insider collected profiles of 30 people with “soft” majors who are not only extremely successful, but who are in high political positions.
For example: Mitt Romney, Bain Capital CEO, graduated from Birmingham University with a B.A. in English. Michael Eisner, former Disney CEO, graduated Denison University with a double major in English and theater. Ted Turner, CNN founder, graduated Brown University as a Classic major. Anne Mulcahy, former XEROX CEO, graduated Marymount University as an English and journalism major.
In the past, scientists have not been: “effective in explaining to the public the scientific method, the peer review system or the self-correcting nature of scientific research,” according to David Skorton, previous president of Cornell University.
This is a problem because issues that need to be addressed do not always get the right kind of publicity. For example, genetically modified organisms, global climate change and other health developments previously have not gained positive public acceptance.
“It is through the study of art, music, literature, history and other humanities and social sciences that we gain a greater understanding of the human condition than biological or physical science alone can provide,” said Skorton.
Without professionals having a foundation of “soft” disciplines, they would lack critical thinking, emotional intelligence and communication skills needed to lead.
The NEH wrote: “If the interdependence of science and the humanities were more generally understood, men would be more likely to become masters of their technology and not its unthinking servants.”
If organizations, like the NEH, have known about this for more than 50 years, why hasn’t the educational system been brought up to date?
It’s because since the 1980’s, political rhetoric emphasizes the need for less liberal arts and more Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) education, according to Nextgov, produced by Government Executive Media Group, the most trusted information resource serving senior decision makers in government.
For example, Florida’s Gov. Rick Scott said in an interview on The Marc Bernier Show that Florida doesn't need: "more anthropologists in this state. It's a great degree if people want to get it. But we don't need them here.”
He continued: “I want to spend our money getting people science, technology, engineering and math degrees. That's what our kids need to focus all of their time and attention on: Those type of degrees that when they get out of school, they can get a job."
Interesting Scott mentions STEM is what will get students jobs, because employers have a different perspective, according to the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AACU).
A study done in 2013, surveyed more than 300 employers including owners, chief executive officers, presidents and vice presidents at private sector and nonprofit organizations.
The results stated that employers value critical thinking and problem solving over a college major. Key findings stated that, regardless of major: “80 percent of employers agree … every college student should acquire broad knowledge in the liberal arts and sciences.”
Separating the two fields ignores the fact that we live in a complex social and cultural world.
Needs have changed, and this should encourage the educational system to adapt accordingly to produce skilled workers for twenty-first century jobs. The Industrial Revolution is behind us, and to produce assembly line laborers out of college is backwards thinking.
“Employers say that recent graduates often don't know how to communicate effectively, and struggle with adapting, problem-solving and making decisions,” according to the Chronicle of Higher Education and American Public Media’s Marketplace report.
Surveyed were 50,000 employers who hire recent college graduates. The Chronicle hoped to understand perceptions employers have of colleges and universities in career preparation.
The results show that employer’s from science/technology, media/communications and manufacturing industries have the most difficult time finding qualified college graduates. On a one to five scale (five being most difficult), employers gave science/technology graduates a 3.75, and not far behind was media/communications with a 3.57.
How are colleges falling behind in educating future employees?
For science/technology graduates, it is their written and communication skills, followed by technical skills relating to the job. For the media/communications industry the problem categories are decision-making and technical skills.
Colleges can improve on this by bridging the gap in education. Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences focus on lasting challenges of creating lives with purpose and meaning. STEM understands how the world systematically works and provides exact solutions.
To have students with knowledge in both disciplines can provide effective communication solutions that appreciate diversity and complexity and potentially overcome adversity.
A successful venture capitalist, Marc Andreessen, believes in the importance of a college education, but to him STEM holds more value than the “softer stuff,” like English.
"I'm sure it's fun, but the average college graduate with a degree in something like English is going to end up working in a shoe store,” said Andreessen.
For an industry to be successful, it requires leadership skills, social and emotional intelligence, cultural understanding, a capacity for strategic decision-making and a global perspective. All things a Liberal Arts education can provide.
To counter Andreessen, some of the country’s most successful and creative people are educated in “soft” disciplines.
Business Insider collected profiles of 30 people with “soft” majors who are not only extremely successful, but who are in high political positions.
For example: Mitt Romney, Bain Capital CEO, graduated from Birmingham University with a B.A. in English. Michael Eisner, former Disney CEO, graduated Denison University with a double major in English and theater. Ted Turner, CNN founder, graduated Brown University as a Classic major. Anne Mulcahy, former XEROX CEO, graduated Marymount University as an English and journalism major.
In the past, scientists have not been: “effective in explaining to the public the scientific method, the peer review system or the self-correcting nature of scientific research,” according to David Skorton, previous president of Cornell University.
This is a problem because issues that need to be addressed do not always get the right kind of publicity. For example, genetically modified organisms, global climate change and other health developments previously have not gained positive public acceptance.
“It is through the study of art, music, literature, history and other humanities and social sciences that we gain a greater understanding of the human condition than biological or physical science alone can provide,” said Skorton.
Without professionals having a foundation of “soft” disciplines, they would lack critical thinking, emotional intelligence and communication skills needed to lead.