Globalization has offshored low skills manufacturing, leaving industry in the United States to adjust business models, install ever-advancing technology, and incorporate automation on their production floor. These advances in precision and computer-aided work require a labor force with technical and "soft" skills to operate complex…

The purpose of this qualitative document review study is to investigate the potential gaps between which skills and competencies students are learning in associate degree accounting programs at community colleges in the Minnesota State College system and what employers are seeking in entry-level accounting position applicants in Minnesota. For the…

The purpose of this systematic review was to identify whether a relationship exists between college curricula and the expectations of those who hire college graduates. Forty-three studies published from 2010-2020 in international peer-reviewed journals were reviewed using a systematic review methodology. A literature review regarding the…

Purpose: This study investigates the effectiveness of ROTC programs in equipping students with competency-based skills crucial for career readiness. Methodology: Through a content analysis of ROTC curricula and employer expectations, this study compares what is being taught in ROTC to what employers expect college graduates to know. Key Findings:…

U.S. employers have reported that many college graduates are underprepared in written communication when hired and that lack of preparedness hinders these graduates' employment success. Higher education institution (HEI) administrators need information regarding which writing skills should be taught across the curriculum to improve student…

Literature and research span a multitude of ways to define critical thinking. It is used frequently and interchangeably within academia and the workforce based on the context and experiences of the individual. Amidst the ambiguity and complexity in a composite definition of critical thinking, over the past years, it continues to rank in the top…

Vietnam currently faces a social skills deficit among college graduates. This lack of sufficient social skills significantly affects Vietnam's economy where it is one of the main factors that drives higher unemployment in Vietnam. Research has shown that although social skills have been increasingly perceived by employers as one of the most…

This study responds to a national conversation about the role that Career Technical Education (CTE) might play in meeting workforce demand for soft skills. It is challenging for CTE programs to offer soft skills for several reasons. Both educators and employers tend to associate CTE with hard skills, or technical skills and therefore the programs…

The applied dissertation was designed to understand the perceptions of private-sector employers regarding the selection of candidates from distance-only higher education institutions. Guided by signaling theory as a framework, the study explored the mismatch between institutional, student, and employer expectations of skills and readiness for the…

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore how hiring managers describe the importance of education and industry related/real-world experience as criteria in hiring recent business graduates for the Consumer Products Goods industry in the United States. The theoretical foundations for the study were the CareerEDGE Model, and…

Essential Employability Qualities, also known as soft skills, are becoming just as important for new college graduates to demonstrate during the hiring process as job-specific skills (Hart Research Associates, 2018; National Association of Colleges and Employers, 2018). A review of the literature reveals that employers (Ahmad, 2019; Chhinzer &…

Talent supply and demand is a concern in many key positions in all industries, including higher education. Understanding what attracts and retains IT staff is important for organizations, particularly in a tight labor market. Institutions that experience high turnover in Information Technology (IT) staff positions risk impacting student services,…

This non-experimental descriptive quantitative applied dissertation was designed to identify and analyze the soft employability skills desired by mid-Atlantic employers of business school graduates in a post-pandemic environment. The study evaluated alignment of the competencies possessed by business school graduates and the desired skills of…

This dissertation-in-practice (DIP) outlines a quantitative cross-sectional exploratory pilot study on the topic of interviewer gender identity and job applicant evaluation. Through the introduction of the topic, review of literature, and methodology, the real-world relevance and challenges surrounding equal-opportunity employment for women in the…

A graduate's experiences in higher education impacts performance behaviors in the workplace. Some universities have worked together to offer students a double degree education experience that allows students to obtain international experience and complete two degrees simultaneously, such as the double degree program offered by Centro de Ensenanza…