The Miseducated Jobless

PhD will work for foodIt’s a well-known fact that job growth is not keeping pace with the increasing number of college graduates, and that the resultant unemployment crisis is a major economic and political concern. What’s far less well-known is that employers’ and business leaders’ demand for talent is not being met by the supply of graduates.

A majority of employers say applicants lack crucial communication and interpersonal skills, and can’t think critically and creatively, or solve problems.

To put it simply, there’s not going to be job growth involving college graduates because the employers, despite being in a position to have their pick of the crop, can’t find skills that they’re looking for in employees. Modern students have spent the entire scholastic careers being miseducated for the job market and for life.

The vast majority of schools, from kindergarten through college, don’t adequately prepare students to: lead, collaborate with others, or affect change. Skills such as: problem solving, leadership, teamwork, empathy, and social and emotional intelligence are not being taught to students. Nor are either personal or intellectual humility.

No. Modern school may, and often do, churn out graduates with solid or more than solid technical skills in various field, but those same graduates were woefully miseducated in every other aspect of life. Employers have little or no need for uncommunicative, non-goal driven, hubris-filled employees.

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