Colleges Aren’t Preparing Gen Z for Jobs: Report
Credit: Viktor Cvetkovic / E+ / Getty Images- A new survey of recent U.S. college graduates and HR leaders by the Hult International Business School found that the graduates weren’t prepared for their current jobs.
- Only 24% of recent college graduates said they had all the skills they need for their current role.
- 85% said they wish their undergraduate education had better prepared them for the workplace.
- While 98% of HR leaders said they had labor shortages, 89% said they avoid hiring recent college graduates.
Younger workers and those doing the hiring agree: Colleges aren’t preparing students for jobs.
A new survey sponsored by the Hult International Business School and conducted by Walr found the vast majority of college graduates entering the workplace were unprepared for their current role.
Only 24% of recent U.S. college graduates said they had all the skills they need for their current role, and 77% said they learned more in six months on the job than during their full undergraduate studies.
The survey focused on 800 full-time employees between the ages of 22 and 27 at U.S. organizations, as well as 800 human resources (HR) leaders.
A common theme emerged among the young workers: They would have liked better job training in college, with 85% indicating they wish their undergraduate education had better prepared them for the workplace.
More than half, 55%, said their college education didn’t prepare them at all for their job.
A Tough Market for Recent Graduates
Worries about graduates’ job readiness were also reflected by HR leaders in the survey.
An overwhelming majority of HR leaders said their organization is struggling to find talent, with 98% indicating shortages.
But those shortages aren’t enough for them to hire workers right out of college: 89% said they avoid hiring recent college graduates.
HR leaders cited recent graduates not having real-world experiences, lacking a “global mindset,” and not knowing how to work well on a team as the top three reasons for not wanting to hire them.
Poor teamwork, training costs, a lack of skills, and poor business etiquette were also cited as reasons HR leaders opted not to hire recent graduates.
Nearly a third, 30%, said they would rather leave a position unfilled than hire a recent graduate. Artificial intelligence (AI) was another alternative, with 37% indicating they’d rather use AI or a robot to do a job instead of hiring a recent graduate.
“Traditional undergraduate curriculum has not kept pace with an evolving global workplace, and the chasm between what’s being taught and what employers need has become more apparent,” Martin Boehm, executive vice president and global dean of undergraduate programs at Hult, said in a statement about the survey.
Skills That Can Help Get Graduates Jobs
Human skills emerged as top priorities in what employers are looking for in new hires.
Communication, willingness to learn, collaboration, creativity, and critical thinking were all highly cited by the HR leaders as skills graduates need to have.
That isn’t surprising: A 2024 Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) report found that employers expect human skills to be important, even amid the rise of AI. In that report, recruiters cited problem-solving, strategic thinking, and leadership as being important skills for recent business graduates to have.
“These core business school skills … are really what employers are looking for both today and tomorrow,” report author Andrew Walker told BestColleges in a 2024 interview.
The Hult survey revealed a gulf between what HR leaders say colleges should provide and what students said they received as part of their education.
Career coaching and mentorship, global perspectives, challenge-based learning, teamwork, and in-demand skills were all cited by more than 90% of HR leaders. Less than half of students surveyed said they received that during their undergraduate education.
Nearly all HR leaders also said a foundational knowledge of information technology (IT), data analytics, and tech skills was important for recent graduates, but only 20% of the young workers indicated they had those skills.
A Changing Educational Landscape
The Hult survey might paint a bleak picture for undergraduate education, but colleges over the past year have rapidly been adapting their curriculum in response to employer needs.
That’s particularly evident at business schools. Many have retooled their undergraduate and graduate offerings to focus on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and launched degrees in high-demand areas like AI and financial technology (fintech).
GMAC found in its 2024 Application Trends Survey that only 22% of business schools hadn’t integrated AI into student learning. That came alongside a global increase in applications to graduate business schools.
“While the phenomenon could give proof to the countercyclical trend long observed between interest in graduate business school and the strength of the economy, I would give much credit to global business schools and their tremendous efforts to continue innovating with new technologies, new delivery tactics, and new ways of operating that satisfy the latest interests and needs of students and their future employers,” GMAC CEO Joy Jones said in a press release at the time.
Some universities have launched entire colleges built around high-demand tech skills. The University of South Florida last year announced plans for an AI and cybersecurity college to launch in 2025.