The Agility Imperative: How Employers View Preparation for an Uncertain Future
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| Title: | The Agility Imperative: How Employers View Preparation for an Uncertain Future |
|---|---|
| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Ashley P. Finley, American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U), Morning Consult |
| Source: | American Association of Colleges and Universities. 2025. |
| Availability: | American Association of Colleges and Universities. 1818 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20009. Tel: 800-297-3775; Tel: 202-387-3760; Fax: 202-265-9532; e-mail: pub_desk@aacu.org; Web site: https://www.aacu.org/publications |
| Peer Reviewed: | N |
| Page Count: | 34 |
| Publication Date: | 2025 |
| Document Type: | Reports - Research Numerical/Quantitative Data |
| Descriptors: | Employer Attitudes, Career Development, Job Skills, Transfer of Training, Employment Potential, Career Readiness, Innovation, Artificial Intelligence, Digital Literacy, Microcredentials, Skilled Workers, Employment Qualifications, Critical Thinking, Educational Attainment, Expectation |
| Abstract: | When AAC&U's employer research began, the intent was to advance the idea that there are broad skills that transcend disciplines, linking the breadth of learning in general education with the depth of learning students' gain in their chosen majors--what would eventually become the Essential Learning Outcomes (ELOs). What was demonstrated in that initial research was that the articulation of those outcomes resonated beyond college campuses and had import among employers. When the ELOs appeared two years later, with language endorsed by employers, it was one of the first "lists" of what are now viewed as "durable" or "transferable" skills. Now there are dozens of such lists. One of the most widely referenced is the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) Career Competencies, which has close alignment with the ELOs. But it's not just the wide acknowledgment of broad skills and their alignment with learning outcomes that has gained traction, in addition to an increase in skills-based hiring practices among employers. The way colleges and universities have had to consider higher education's contributions to the public good, including career attainment, has also expanded in important ways. Much of the last decade has been hyperfocused on making new arguments for higher education's "return on investment." Perhaps because public sentiment is not as easily swayed by economic data points alone, the narrative for the value and purpose of a college degree continues to be built. AAC&U's latest employer research arrives at a time full of good thinking and solid data around career readiness. The findings in this report should be leveraged alongside this research. Doing so will provide a variety of stakeholders (e.g., students, faculty, staff, administrators, parents) with the fullest picture of the value of a college degree. This report contains arguments for advancing transparency for curricular (and cocurricular) learning outcomes and investments in high-impact practices--particularly those that are civic- and community-based. The report also gives nudges for innovation toward artificial intelligence (AI) literacy, micro-credentials, and the articulation of mindsets and dispositions as core "learning" outcomes. In addition, one will find hope for a more expansive narrative of just what a college education prepares students to do in the workforce. Employers' vision of a skilled workforce is one that includes civic skills. A rising generation of employers (under the age of 40) see not only the value of critical thinking but also the value of civility, constructive disagreement, and efforts to engage diverse perspectives. AAC&U's collective call to action is to recognize that healthy communities persist on the strength of educational attainment, not in spite of it. |
| Abstractor: | ERIC |
| Entry Date: | 2026 |
| Accession Number: | ED677914 |
| Database: | ERIC |
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