Education to Employment: Designing a System that Works

This paper focused on “two related global crises: high levels of youth unemployment and a shortage of people with critical job skills. Leaders everywhere are aware of the possible consequences, in the form of social and economic distress, when too many young people believe that their future is compromised. Still, governments have struggled to develop effective responses—or even to define what they need to know” (p. 11). (Abstractor: Author and Website Staff)

• “Young people are three times more likely than their parents to be out of work” (p. 11). • “Almost 40 percent of employers say a lack of skills is the main reason for entry-level vacancies” (p. 16). “This problem is not likely to be a temporary blip; in fact, it will probably get much worse. The McKinsey Global Institute estimates that by 2020 there will be a global shortfall of 85 million high- and middle-skilled workers” (p. 11). • “Employers, education providers, and youth live in parallel universes:” They have very different understandings of job preparedness and are often not engaging or are not in communication with each other. “Fewer than half of youth and employers, for example, believe that new graduates are adequately prepared for entry-level position” (p. 18). • “The education-to-employment journey is fraught with obstacles… [at] three critical intersections: (1) enrolling in postsecondary education, (2) building skills, and (3) finding a job” (p. 19). • “The education-to-employment system fails for most employers and young people.” About 70 percent of youth were unengaged or minimally engaged (p. 20). • “Innovative and effective programs around the world have important elements in common.” Education providers and employers are engaged with each other and “employers and education providers work with their students early and intensely” (p. 20). • “Creating a successful education-to-employment system requires new incentives and structures:” (1) stakeholders need better data, (2) transformative solutions require big collaborations, and (3) countries need system integrators (p. 20-21). • “Education-to-employment solutions need to scale up,” which could be accomplished by blending online learning, including simulations, with employer-specific apprenticeships (p. 21). (Abstractor: Author and Website Staff)

• Last Updated:
• Created:
• Resource Publication Date: 2012
• Author(s): Mourshed, Mona; Farrell, Diana; Barton, Dominic
• Organizational Author(s): McKinsey Center for Government
• Funding Source: McKinsey Center for Government
• Resource Availability: Publicly available
• Posted by: Wesley Peterson
• Posted in: Workforce System Strategies