WHY THIS MATTERS?
Today’s economy moves fast and is in constant change. Do you feel capable and supported to do increasingly more complicated tasks well at work?
- Gen Z prioritizes opportunities to upskill and reskill for career growth due to the diminished half-life of skills today, but employee engagement surveys rate their experiences with career growth and recognition lower than other generations. They want clear visibility on how learning connects to advancement. Source: Gallagher
- Internships for college students entering careers as experienced young professionals are essential yet 4.6 million out of 8.2 million students couldn’t find internships due to lack of supply. Source: Business- Higher Education Forum
- Only 10% of HR professionals focused on employee learning and development believe their teams have the skills needed to meet business goals in the next 1-2 years. Source: Skillsoft
- 1 in 2 graduates say their major didn’t prepare them for today’s job market. 1 in 6 said they regret not having an internship. The value of just an education is not enough for career readiness anymore. Source: Preply, Resume.org
- Professional development stipends typically range from $100 to $2,000 per employee per year, with an average of $1,140. This investment has grown in importance, with spending on professional development increasing from 13.3% to 15% of non-taxable benefits from 2023 to 2024. Source: Compt
It’s not just employers and managers who find and recommend professional development opportunities for employees. Increasingly, employees themselves are being proactive in identifying opportunities and asking employers to support them in terms of both funding and time for participation as a lifestyle spending benefit.
The most successful programs align educational investments with both business priorities and employee career trajectories but it is important to differentiate between professional development for the near-term success and career development for long-term positioning.
There has been a precipitous decline in higher education as a whole in recent decades. While some colleges and universities are excellent at preparing their students for career success, others have failed miserably necessitating learning on the job as employers help to pick up the slack and fill in workforce readiness gaps.
According to higher education expert Brandon Busteed, recent college graduate unemployment stands at 9.3% now. It currently registers as the third highest unemployment rate in the past 84 years. The last two times it was higher was in 1982 (10.8%) and 2009 (9.9%). Worse, this rate coincides with an average of $38,000 in student loan debt compared to $5,000 in the mid 1980’s. With an inflation adjusted total of $16,000, today’s college graduates have more than double the student loan debt while facing unemployment levels among the highest in history.
SOLUTIONS
Avison Strategies believes those that have represented the nexus of colleges and careers have failed because they have been focused unnecessarily elsewhere besides preparing students for careers. Current college career centers and the nonprofits supporting them need wholesale leadership changes where they put students first. We stand ready to advocate for new directions to fix this broken pipeline.
In the meantime, employers must pick up the slack. New public policy expanding flexibility and increased resources with tax advantages for education, skills development, and student loan debt repayment are positive directions helping employers, especially when the budget for benefits is being reduced because of increased healthcare spend.
Higher education is beginning to shift to adapt to the market of today and offer more certificate and credential programs for those using learning and development dollars from employers. According to Korn Ferry, professional training and certificate programs are expected to be a $3 billion industry serving 11 million people by 2030. Avison Strategies can help your organization prioritize resources for employees to access these certificate programs.
Avison Strategies has experience working with companies like the Canadian company Riipen, who have business models designed to work directly with employers and higher education to increase opportunities for internships and experiential learning.