Survey: College Graduates Don't Feel Employable

About one-fifth of recent graduates of two- and four-year institutions said their college education did not provide the skills necessary for their first job, and about half decided not to apply to entry-level positions because they felt they were not qualified, according to a new survey administered by Cengage, a publisher and education-technology company.

Respondents who felt underqualified for postgraduation jobs said it was primarily because they lacked skills listed in the employer’s job advertisement; far fewer thought they lacked degree requirements, according to Cengage’s Graduate Employability Report, which analyzed the survey results. About 1,600 people who graduated from college within the last five years responded to the survey, which was conducted in March and includes full- and part-time workers in retail and hospitality, health care, manufacturing and engineering, finance and insurance, and technology, the report said.

Michael Hansen, CEO of Cengage, said in a press release that the survey results demonstrate that higher education leaders need to focus more on teaching students “job-ready skills” in addition to traditional academics. For example, only 38 percent of respondents said they learned “people management” skills during college, and 33 percent said they learned “time management,” the report said. About 54 percent of respondents said they “very frequently” or “frequently” use skills learned in college to perform daily tasks in their job.