From skill to instinct: how higher education can bridge the gap between classroom and career

Higher education institutions have traditionally focused solely on academia, providing students crucial, in-depth knowledge of their chosen fields. However, colleges and universities now need to consider the chief concern of their students: enhancing their individual worth in an exceedingly competitive and rapidly transforming job market. While an advanced degree remains a valuable tool, students simply require more from their higher ed institutions to prepare them for a successful and rewarding career. Employers and hiring managers are increasingly looking for an emerging set of skills in their new hires, including those entering the workforce with a recent degree in hand. Companies are looking for prospective employees who not only have the hard skills training needed to do the job, but also the social instincts that indicate a candidate will be a productive and effective member of their team. In May 2021, Mursion conducted a dual survey of more than 400 recent college graduates and more than 425 [human resource] HR professionals to explore the importance of people skills in the workforce and discover how HR and emerging professionals want this gap to be improved.

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