A report being released Monday by the McKinsey Center for Government shows a big disconnect between new grads looking for work and the employers looking to hire them. Both sides acknowledge that something is amiss: Only 42 percent of employers felt that new hires were “adequately prepared†by their education or formal training. Similarly, only 45 percent of graduates felt they were “adequately prepared†for even entry-level positions in their field.
But when asked the same question, 72 percent of education providers felt that they “adequately prepared†students for the workplace. Given that many graduates and recruiters disagree, one could say that academia is either overly optimistic, or simply out of touch, about its own usefulness.
This mismatch has turned into a global problem. McKinsey estimates that 75 million young people are unemployed w orldwide.
McKinsey has invited panelists from all over the world to debate this divide on a live Web chat starting at 9 a.m. EST on Monday. You can register to watch it here.
The McKinsey report offers a range of practical solutions, like curriculums designed by companies, on-site job training and better career advice.
But there is a larger question: What is the point of a university education?
Some would say that it is the only time that a young person can luxuriate in learning for the sake of learning for the sheer joy of it. When else can you fill your head with everything from foreign languages to science, and be on both the debate team and the cheerleading squad? The ability to be creative, inquisitive, critical and open-minded is invaluable. Most educators will tell you that it's not the piece of paper you get at the end that matters, but what you learned on the way.
The counter-argument is that there are an awful lot of well-rounded, brilliant philosophy majors leaving school with student debt, no job prospects and no marketable skills. A cynic would say that many of them would be more gainfully employed had they spent three or four years learning a practical trade. There are plenty of plumbers, chefs and mechanics out-earning new university graduates right now.
In economically trying times- in the face of alarming rates of youth unemployment- are philosophy degrees a luxury that some students simply cannot afford?
Should everyone go to university? Should schools focus on creating well-rounded graduates, or on teaching specific, technical skills needed by the marketplace?
