By Dr. Bill Blank, Director-Career Development Posted Tuesday, August 21, 2018 @ 11:42 AM If parents could view the collegiate experience from an employer’s perspective, they might be surprised to learn what constitutes a valuable education. A New York Times article, titled What it Takes to Make New College Graduates Employable, references a study that found nearly half of over 700 employers have trouble finding recent college graduates qualified to fill positions at their companies. Surprisingly, it was not due to a lack of technical skills, but rather general education and critical thinking skills. The report states, “when it comes to the skills most needed by employers, job candidates are often lacking in written and oral communication skills, analytical skills, adaptability, decision-making, and problem solving.” In today’s job market, every occupation requires some combination of these two broad types of education: General Education: reasoning, critical thinking, and basic academic skills (math, language, reading, writing). Specific Vocational or Career Preparation: technical or specialized knowledge and skills for a specific type of employment. Even with the growing improvements in the national and state economy, Career Services staff hear from reporters, parents, and college students alike that there are no jobs. In fact, there are jobs that are not being filled because recent graduates often lack sufficient general or broad-based education. To assist your students in learning more about ways to develop and demonstrate these general education skills, refer them to UCF Career Services. Since parents have a great deal of influence over their college age children (believe it or not), you can help them make the most of their time by encouraging them to connect with Career Services early in their academic experience. Back