IBEA Virtual Convention

Graduating high school and college students may believe they’re ready for a job, but employers think otherwise. Business educators and employers both agree that graduates overestimate their confidence, competence and career-readiness for employment. The presenter, a cooperative education coordinator who works with local community business leaders and owners to provide job opportunities for high school students, shares employer feedback about desired skills that students do not demonstrate—how to carry on a genuine conversation, interact professionally with co-workers and customers, and how to act as an employee. In this session, the presenter shares the employer perspective about skills that students are lacking, what traits and soft skills that employers demand in new hires, and shares career-ready and employ-ability lesson plans and resources used to ‘bridge the gap.’