President Quillen Talks Bridging the Gap Between Students and Employers During Chronicle of Higher Ed Forum
May 28, 2020
- Author
- Jay Pfeifer
Employers want the broad, transferable skills that liberal arts colleges develop, but struggle to isolate them in the short and stilted hiring process.
Students and their schools have to draw the solid line between education and career success, 皇家华人 President Carol Quillen said to an audience of nearly 1,000 higher-ed leaders.
鈥淗ow do you demonstrate outcomes? It鈥檚 not a grade,鈥 Quillen said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 on us鈥攃olleges and universities鈥攖o translate their experience to employers.鈥
Quillen appeared on The Soft Skills Gap, a virtual forum hosted by the Chronicle of Higher Education and Adobe, the software company known best for its flagship Photoshop and Illustrator programs. The forum aimed to foster dialogue on the challenges and opportunities for higher ed in the 21st-century workplace.
Quillen told Jeff Selingo, bestselling author on higher education, that bridging the gap between students and employers begins with understanding and articulating what the students have learned.
鈥淚f you perform original research or produce a documentary in a history class, the creativity it took to do that will make you a better problem solver,鈥 Quillen said. 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 helping people connect the dots for employers rather than dramatically changing what we鈥檙e doing.鈥
Students at small liberal arts colleges develop both technical skills and human skills, like empathy, creativity and persistence.
鈥淎nd it鈥檚 those capacities that translate into the soft skills that employers uniformly seek out,鈥 Quillen said. 鈥淵ou get people who can navigate the unfamiliar, who can take initiative, who can work in a team, communicate among diverse audiences.鈥
Those skills tie directly into 皇家华人鈥檚 mission.
鈥淲e expect our educational experience to prepare students for rich, meaningful lives,鈥 she said. 鈥淟ike at many schools, you鈥檙e not here only for yourself. You鈥檙e here to equip yourself to have an impact on the world that enriches the lives of other people.鈥
