More Jobs are Requiring More Education

Friday, July 12, 2013

 

Tell me something that I did not already know.

 

In a June 2013 report co-authored by Anthony P. Carnevale, Nicole Smith, and JeffStrohl, “Recovery: Job Growth and Education Requirements through 2020”, the Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce authors point to a somewhat bleak picture of the supply of job candidates vs. the skills demanded by the workplace.  The study estimate that by 2020, on a national level, 65% of jobs will require some level of post-high school education.  And if that was not already a slap in the face, 66% to 76% of jobs in the top half (28) of the states will require education beyond high school.  With the exception of New Hampshire, Utah, and Wisconsin, every state and the District of Columbia are projected to be unable to meet the educational job-market demands by 2020.  So what is the message for many business organizations?

 

Most business leaders already know that many high school, community, and college graduates possess a significant gap of varying degrees for both soft and hard skills.  While vocational and trade schools may be training workers for trades, most traditional colleges do not see that it is their role is to produce job ready employees for an specific industry or employer.

 

What’s an employer to do in the search for top talent?  Karen Klein, writing for Bloomberg Businessweek on May 17, 2013 in her article titled, “How to Recruit the Best of the Class of 2013”, describes seven issues that small businesses should address.

 

1.     Sell your size: smaller organizations often expose employees to a wide range business area, link them to organizational leaders, and open doors to mentoring by owners and directors.

2.     Promote culture: current graduates want meaningful employment and associations, an employer’s culture and passion will be important to that top grad.

3.     Find grads before they graduate: start early with college alumni networks, college career centers, get involved in mentoring and internship programs.

4.     Pay them well:  ensure compensation is competitive and have a good employee-review process.  Leverage the motivating power of technology, such as providing the latest mobile device.

5.     Use social networks: highlight fast-track career opportunities in social media. Use social media to help screen applicants.

6.     Make your company look good: make your organizational brand stand out.  Again, social media can be a platform to reach that new top grad.

7.     Be realistic:  there are no guarantees, as with any new employee.  Top grads do not always make for a top performer.

 

As the economy continues its slow and protracted recovery, employers can be extremely selective in their new employee hiring processes, especially for recent college graduates.  It is important that organizations focus their recruiting efforts on those candidates who possess the right combination of soft and hard skills.  This is uniquely true of small to midsize employers who often make a limited number of technical and four year college hires.