Almost all families want their youngsters to have a post-secondary education.
While their motivation primarily is to enhance the monetary rewards, there should be other factors to justify further training. There is one very important reason that not enough appreciated.
A post-secondary education should be centred on what life is all about in order to be effective participants in the economy. Too few know life’s true value. Only by studying history and culture can a person have perspective. Only in that way can a young person be in a position to be really effective.
If one does not know about the past and various cultures, there can be no real understanding of what life is or should be. A new poll of many business leaders, by Modus Research Incorporated, has found that 41 per cent believe universities in their province are doing a good job preparing graduates to meet the needs of employers, while 32% say they are doing a poor job.
There is more dissatisfaction than a decade ago. Business leaders often complain graduates do not have the so-called soft skills such as good communication, writing, literacy, strategic thinking abilities or social skills. Apparently, the shifting focus is on technical training, preparing more workers for tech-type skilled work but leaving other gaps that are frustrating to employers.
Some think there should be more emphasis on technical training while others believe it is more important to teach your people to think and analyze more generally. While lower level employers seem relatively happy with graduates, top level CEO executives are most dissatisfied. Senior executives seem to put more value on analytical and communication skills while lower-tier managers look for people with specific qualifications to fill entry-level jobs.
This dissatisfaction is of recent origin compared to 10 years ago. In speaking with one company head, he said he would want to interview and hire potential employees who had majored in philosophy because they are taught how to think.
Surveys found that universities that are playing an important role in preparing for the future economy are actually doing a mediocre job. Finding skilled people to fill jobs is a major concern for many in view of inadequate training. Unfortunately, probably most believe the primary purpose of post-secondary education is that it will impact one’s income in a positive way throughout life – but by focusing on that aspect, students are short changed. Focusing on monetary rewards offers no guarantees.
It is no wonder that chief executives are giving a weak rating to the graduates who are not prepared for the workforce – and worrisome it is, especially when many employment positions cannot be filled for that very reason.