Abstract:

Although overeducation where "ability, personality…and other indicators of labor market success" (Sloan, 2020, p. 2) exceeds expectation is certainly possible, more often, employers are increasingly disappointed in graduates' lack of "soft skills" or "21st-Century” skills, generally described as a combination of cognitive, interpersonal and intrapersonal skills “that are malleable and relatively stable over time” (Rios, et al., 2020, p. 80). As such, employers are increasing their demand for a professionally prepared workforce (Pang, et al., 2019; Nealy, 2020; Abbasi, et al., 2018).

As Rhew, Black, & Keels (2020) indicate, employers have increased their higher education criticism for the underprepared graduate workforce. However, there are a wide variety of factors that contribute to the discrepancy, including "quality of instruction and rigor across levels to conflicting goals of faculty and employers" (p. 362), in addition to students' reluctance to experience soft skill development within their discipline-focused courses.

This paper's theoretical framework examines the disconnect between teaching “soft skills” in the classroom and employment readiness. The author hypothesizes that students often react negatively to activities that promote soft skills; students rarely look beyond competencies deemed important for specific tasks. The hypothesis is supported through first-person narrative and secondary research. The paper concludes with practical solutions targeted to address students' career preparation.

Within the paper, identifying how students often resist soft skill development in the classroom is essential for finding resolutions. The author seeks to contribute to educational theory and practice in ways that will stimulate classroom creativity and innovation through a problem/solutions approach that guides readers as to how to address employer expectations of college graduates, but more importantly, offer ways in which readers might support student development with minimal disruption to traditional classroom discipline and/or content.

Within our competitive economy, “employers place higher importance on soft skills and personal attributes while lesser on degree subject” (Abbasi, Ali, and Bibi, 2018, p. 354); however, students are often resistant to classroom activities that address 21st-Century, or soft skills. Therefore, this paper seeks to address the perceived disconnects among students, classroom practices, and potential employers by sharing primary and secondary research that demonstrates not only the disconnect but ways in which the gap between classroom and employer may be reduced.

The results presented in the paper will include evidence of current employers’ expectations of new graduates, case studies of the student/classroom/employer disconnect, faculty recommendations for in-class activities, students’ recommendations for increased attention focused on 21st-century skills, as well as practical resources and suggestions compiled through the presenters’ primary and secondary research (in addition to participants experiences and solutions). Solutions will include, but at not limited to, in-class activities, endeavors outside of the classroom, university programming, mentorship (Bausell, L, Al-Dahhan, L., 2020), reflective activities (Blaquiére, Nolan, & Wray, 2019), and experiential learning (Miller, Rocconi, & Dumford, 2018).

Keywords:

21st-Century Skills, Professional Preparation, Career Readiness, Employer Expectations.