Giving Compass' Take:

• Colleges need to get more innovative when preparing students for the future needs of the job market, as there is already a global talent shortage. Cooperative education programs may be a solution. 

• What are the challenges for schools that do not have the networks with employers yet? How can more schools adopt a cooperative education model? 

• Read more about the education model at Drexel University.

In “The Future of Work: How Colleges Can Prepare Students for the Jobs Ahead,” Scott Carlson describes a global talent shortage that already exists, and he captures well the dynamic between skill development and job market needs. He states, “As the job market becomes more dynamic, and as employers look for increasingly unnatural combinations of skills, the most important talent will be harder and harder to find.”

Creativity in reducing or eliminating the shortage will be a requirement, and partnerships between higher education and employers will be likely.

Also from Carlson: “In the years to come, employers may also have to develop supply chains for talent, seeking out partnerships with higher-education institutions to cultivate the skills they need.”

So, who has the training and skills development manual for an ill-defined future of work? If not the manual, then experiential learning and cooperative education (co-op) provide several significant chapters. The best of these programs combine classroom experience with real-world experience without compromising academics.

Cooperative education colleges and universities have professional work experience and professional development as critical enhancements to the curriculum. At Drexel University, students have up to three six-month cooperative education opportunities in professional roles related to their career goals, with 80 percent of co-ops providing salaries. These professional experiences are part of the curriculum and add to, not subtract from, academic rigor.

Read the full article about preparing students for the jobs of the future by Randall C. Deike at InsideSources.