Employers Share Insight on Workforce Preparation and Valued Experiences

Title: How College Contributes to Workforce Success: Employer Views on What Matters Most

Source: Association of American Colleges and Universities

Author: Ashley Finley

In partnership with Hanover Research, the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) fielded a survey to executives and hiring managers, capturing their perspectives on workforce preparedness and experiences valued for hiring decisions. Key takeaways include:

• Liberal education is viewed as good preparation for career success.
• Students with “active and applied learning experiences” have an advantage.
• 87 percent of employers expressed that recent college graduates are “somewhat effective” or “very effective” in communicating the skills and knowledge they acquired in college.
• Employers under 40 place higher value on “civic-related outcomes.”

Additional variations in respondents’ perspectives by age and level of educational attainment are described in the report. Overall, these employer characteristics speak to differences in perceptions of both recent graduates and higher education.

Click here to read the report.

—Anna Marie Ramos