The Perception of Career Readiness Skill Development in College Seniors

As universities and colleges around the world strive to provide rigorous academic instruction, they are also preparing their students to enter into the world of work. According to the ACT report on Broadening the Definition of College and Career Readiness: A Holistic Approach; Americans value education because they connect it to economic benefits for themselves and for the country. As the world continues to shift around politics, social and economic changes, the educational consumer becomes more of an advocate for their own education (Royal & Tran, 2019). Many consumers expect post-secondary institutions to graduate students with the knowledge and experiences that will help them become engaged and active citizens in the world. When considering the financial investment and the time to complete a degree program students and parents are evaluating their return of investment (Royal & Tran, 2019). Students expect more than outdated thinking around learning, they want access to skill development and instructional technology provided through their academic college as well as co-curriclur programming to increase their post-graduation employability in a globalized economy (Hora, Benbow, & Smolarek, 2018). As the world becomes more of a global market place and competition for jobs increases, the labor market is creating more jobs that require at minimum a college degree. Although students are graduating with four year degrees employers are suggesting that, many students are unprepared for the world of work (Mattern, Burrus, Camara, O’Connor, Hansen, Gambrell, Casillas, & Bobek, 2014). Employers also feel that there is an existing gap between workforce demands and the skill of workers. By the year 2018, the majority of newly created jobs in the United States are likely to require a college degree (Matter, Burrus, Camara, O’Connor, Hansen, Gambrell, Casillas, & Bobek, 2014). This fact suggests that in order for students to be prepared to enter the world of work they must possess the competencies and skills needed to be successful. There is no one definitive list of employability, competencies and soft skills; instead, researchers, are influenced by the current global and local factors and each list reflects a particular situation. Because there are so many definitions, frameworks, policies, and implementation strategies for career readiness the term and its application can become confusing. Divided viewpoints regarding the definition calls for a broader focus on what employers and colleges identify as knowledge and skills (“What it means to be career ready,” n.d.). The purpose of this study is to understand undergraduate senior student’s perceptions of their competency development in relation to their career using the eight competencies as identified by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE, 2017). The eight competencies are “Critical Thinking/Problem Solving, Oral/Written Communications, Teamwork/Collaboration, Digital Technology, Leadership, Professionalism/Work Ethic, Career Management, and Global/Intercultural Fluency” (NACE, 2017). This research study utilized a mixed methods design. The target population was enrolled seniors at James Madison University