New Survey Reveals Crisis of Confidence in Workforce Readiness Among College Students

• Only a third of students believe they will graduate with the skills and knowledge to be successful in the job market (34%) and in the workplace (36%).
• Just half (53%) believe their major will lead to a good job.

"Higher education's promise of social mobility hinges on students graduating with confidence, purpose and the skills needed to land their first job," said William D. Hansen, President and CEO of Strada Education Network and former U.S. Deputy Secretary of Education. "Students are telling us they feel underprepared to enter the workforce while employers bemoan the skills of recent graduates. That signals demand for new career advising and work-relevant learning models that support more successful transitions from education to employment."

The findings also point to solutions, revealing that students who have these three career-focused experiences at their institution are significantly more confident about their preparation for the workforce:

1. Speak often with faculty or staff about their career options;
2. Have at least one university official initiate a conversation with them about their career options; and,
3. Believe their school is committed to helping their students find a rewarding career.

Additional survey insights include:

• Student confidence differs across majors. Students pursuing science, technology, engineering or math (STEM) degrees report the most confidence about their job prospects with 62% strongly agreeing their major will lead to a good job, compared with 40% of liberal arts majors, 51% of business majors and 58% of those in public service majors like education, social work and criminal justice.
• Nearly four in 10 students have never used their school's career services resources. Overall, 39% of students have never visited their school's career services office or used their online resources, including more than one-third of seniors.
• Career services and advisors are helpful for minority, first generation and older students. Black, Hispanic, first-generation and older students are all far more likely to rate the guidance they received from their career services office and academic advisors as very helpful.

"Students aren't prepared for work – and they know it," said Brandon Busteed, Executive Director, Education & Workforce Development at Gallup. "The fact that 88% of freshman say, 'getting a good job' is the reason they go to college, yet only a third strongly agree they are getting the skills and knowledge they need to succeed is a mandate to improve how institutions approach everything from their academic curriculum to advising."

The Strada-Gallup College Student Survey is the latest addition to a growing portfolio of Strada-Gallup Education Consumer Insights, the nation's largest data set of consumer perspectives on pathways from education to employment. Since June 2016, Gallup has interviewed nearly 250,000 U.S. adults from more than 3,000 postsecondary institutions about their education experiences, decisions and outcomes.

Through the Strada-Gallup Education Consumer Survey (a daily poll of 350 U.S. adults on their education experiences) together with focused surveys of alumni (Gallup-Purdue Index) and now current students, we are gaining actionable insights from consumers across all education attainment levels, socioeconomic backgrounds, race/ethnicities, ages and more.

To view complete findings, download the full report at stradaeducation.gallup.com.

About Strada Education Network
Strada Education Network is a new national nonprofit dedicated to catalyzing more direct and promising pathways between education and employment. Strada engages partners across education, nonprofits, business and government to focus relentlessly on students' success throughout all phases of their working lives. Strada addresses critical postsecondary education and workforce challenges through a combination of strategic philanthropy, research and insights, and mission-aligned affiliates – all focused on advancing the universal right to realized potential, which Strada calls Completion With a Purpose. For more information, visit www.stradaeducation.org and follow us on Twitter @StradaEducation.

About Gallup
Gallup delivers analytics and advice to help leaders and organizations solve their most pressing problems. Combining more than 80 years of experience with its global reach, Gallup knows more about the attitudes and behaviors of employees, customers, students, and citizens than any other organization in the world.

SOURCE Gallup; Strada Education Network