Recently, I read a report from the Association of American Colleges & Universities on the future of work and higher education’s place in it. The report titled Fulfilling the American Dream: Liberal Education and the Future of Work “summarizes selected findings from two parallel national surveys—one of 501 business executives at private sector and nonprofit organizations and another of 500 hiring managers whose current job responsibilities include recruiting, interviewing, and/or hiring new employees.”
The findings – not surprising – “Both executives and hiring managers express a higher degree of confidence in colleges and universities than does the American public. They also agree upon the value of college and believe that it is both important and worth the investment of time and money.” But what caught my eye was the emphasis on both hard and soft skills. In the words of one of the participants:
“A good college can instill a combination of hard job-specific skills and soft real-world skills that can allow a job candidate to contribute to our organization quickly. The degree demonstrates the individual’s ability to commit to a path and complete an objective.”
Note that his comment juxtaposes both the hard skills (read: what higher ed usually focuses on) and soft skills (read: marketable skills – what we also teach, but don’t document) with a statement on the value of a degree. The list of the top six soft skills in order of importance looks vaguely familiar:
- Oral Communication
- Teamwork Skills
- Ethical Judgment and Decision-making
- Working Independently – Setting Priorities, Managing Time
- Written Communication
- Critical Thinking and Analytic Reasoning
Compare this list with the NACE competency list:
- Critical Thinking/Problem Solving
- Oral/Written Communications
- Teamwork/Collaboration
- Digital Technology
- Leadership
- Professionalism/Work Ethic
- Career Management
- Global/Intercultural Fluency
The study goes on to state that the majority of those surveyed (56%) believe that colleges need to improve their teaching of the soft skills. If one of our goals as higher education institutions is to prepare our students for the workplace, perhaps we should listen to employers about what we can do to facilitate that.