Ķvlog

School & District Management Report Roundup

Study Pinpoints Educator-Employer Disconnects

By Sarah D. Sparks — December 11, 2012 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print
Email Copy URL

Despite efforts to improve college and career readiness, students, Ķvlog, and employers around the world still largely exist in “parallel worlds,” never really aligning the skills students learn in class with the ones they need after graduation, according to a new study by the McKinsey Center for Government.

The report released last week identifies obstacles at critical junctures of a student’s school-to-career path. For example, nearly a third of those who graduate from high school never enroll in college because of the expense. Of those who do enroll, about 60 percent of students say they wanted on-the-job training and hands-on job skills, but fewer than half had courses that met those goals. Once they graduate, 25 percent to 40 percent of students found they were unable to get a first job related to their college major. That matched employers’ experiences; 69 percent of employers reported difficulty in finding job candidates with the right skills. Effective training programs around the world had two common traits, the study found. First, Ķvlog and employers worked together with businesspeople helping to design curricula and place students in internships. Second, teachers and employers worked with students “early and intensely” to prepare them for a job.

Stakeholders Views on Job-Market Readiness

BRIC ARCHIVE

SOURCE: McKinsey Survey, August-September 2012

Researchers for the center, part of the international London-based research firm McKinsey & Co., surveyed students, education providers, and employers in nine countries: Brazil, Germany, India, Mexico, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States. They also analyzed case studies of more than 100 education-to-work programs in 25 countries.

A version of this article appeared in the December 12, 2012 edition of Education Week as Study Pinpoints Educator-Employer Disconnects

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
College & Workforce Readiness Webinar
Smarter Tools, Stronger Outcomes: Empowering CTE Educators With Future-Ready Solutions
Open doors to meaningful, hands-on careers with research-backed insights, ideas, and examples of successful CTE programs.
Content provided by 
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Reading & Literacy Webinar
Improve Reading Comprehension: Three Tools for Working Memory Challenges
Discover three working memory workarounds to help your students improve reading comprehension and empower them on their reading journey.
Content provided by 
Recruitment & Retention Webinar EdRecruiter 2026 Survey Results: How School Districts are Finding and Keeping Talent
Discover the latest K-12 hiring trends from EdWeek’s nationwide survey of job seekers and district HR professionals.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.

Read Next

School & District Management Principal by Day, DJ by Night: What School Leaders Learn From Their Side Hustles
Paid or unpaid, side hustles can teach principals new skills that help them run schools.
5 min read
Illustration of a male figure juggling plates above him.
DigitalVision Vectors
School & District Management These Are the New Skills Principals Want to Learn
Hint: It's not all about AI.
3 min read
Photo of principals concentrating during training class.
E+
School & District Management Letter to the Editor Teaching Executive Functions Should Start in Kindergarten
Starting earlier can help with development.
1 min read
Education Week opinion letters submissions
Gwen Keraval for Education Week
School & District Management From Our Research Center What Surveys Revealed This Year About Educators and Immigration
Immigration enforcement fueled fear, debate, and new pressures in schools.
4 min read
Children disembark from a school bus in a largely Hispanic neighborhood that has been the subject of patrols and detentions by Border Patrol agents, during a federal immigration crackdown in Kenner, La., on Dec. 10, 2025.
Children disembark from a school bus in a largely Hispanic neighborhood that has been the subject of patrols and detentions by Border Patrol agents, during a federal immigration crackdown in Kenner, La., on Dec. 10, 2025. This year, the EdWeek Research Center included questions related to immigration in national surveys.
Gerald Herbert/AP