A Gallup poll released yesterday shows that the development of 21st century skills is linked to work success. Topping the list of what employers are looking for: real-world problem solving talents through project-based experiential learning.
How can colleges and universities better develop the skills that lead to long-term quality job security and satisfaction?
Andy Chan, vice president for career development at Wake Forest University and a nationally recognized leader in transforming the college-to-career experience, is available for comment on this report and related stories. He says, “The number one thing that most schools have not really kept up with is the fact that their faculty need to get connected to employers. They have to know what’s going on in the outside world to ensure their students are prepared.”
Chan recently released “A Roadmap for Transforming the College-to-Career Experience,” a crowd-sourced report that includes input from 20 innovators in higher education and business.
The roadmap offers seven steps for strategically revitalizing the traditional, outdated career services office into a dynamic, responsive organization that offers students:
• Professional skill development• Opportunities for innovation and entrepreneurship• Options for networking with and learning from a wide variety of employers• Credit-based career development courses that help students identify their strengths and learn how to be nimble and flexible in their application
In a time when the average career counseling office has cut its budget by 16 percent, Chan has led a three-year, $10 million dollar investment in Wake Forest’s Office of Personal and Career Development that’s paid off with 95 percent of survey respondents from the Class of 2012 reporting they are employed or in graduate school just six months after graduation.
Chan has been featured in national media outlets including the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Inside Higher Ed and the Chronicle of Higher Education.
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