Introduction
The number of high school students who qualify for positions in higher learning institutions in the US has increased over the past decades. However, the value of college education has decreased as more graduates are less likely to find careers in their specific subject areas or employment, obligating them to depend on other solutions for survival.
Thesis; Closing the gap between college and careers demands providing students with equal access to education, informing them of current opportunities, preparing them to pursue technical careers, and working with employers to satisfy their needs.
Supporting Evidence
Addressing the critical needs of ethnic minorities and marginalized students can help more of them achieve higher educational standards. Racially segregated communities have limited access to facilities and exposure to high-level careers (Palmer et al., 2012). Thus, it is necessary to facilitate purposeful teaching and learning in these areas to oversee more possibilities.
Informing students of the various careers they can pursue can assist them in gradually developing their interests in specific fields and working toward achieving their ambitions. Students lack awareness of the numerous career opportunities in the job market and are not motivated to reach specific goals (Malin et al., 2017). Thus, exposing them to diverse and exciting careers in scientific fields can alter their attitudes and encourage them to improve their performance.
Equipping students with the skills they require to succeed in the modern job industry is critical to their success. Therefore, it is advisable to leverage the strengths of STEM curricula as the techniques used to adopt a hands-on approach and self-learning mechanisms that allow students to think critically and solve complex issues (Jacobson, 2021). Hence, STEM education can close the gap between college and careers by pushing students to venture into high-level and technical careers such as engineering and mathematics.
Training institutions should liaise with employers to plan relevant and effective college curricula that offer value to their organizations. Most employers experience difficulty finding individuals with the appropriate skill set (Morgan, 2021). Thus, equipping students to solve specific issues will enable them to secure jobs easily after graduation.
Counter Argument
Some individuals argue that the high influx of individuals into colleges is to blame for the poor quality of education and the college-career gap (Jain, 2019). As a result, they suggest adopting strict regulations to raise college entry standards and limit more individuals from joining colleges, as this would increase the quality of service provision.
Common Ground
Although the high number of college entries is one of the reasons for poor quality education, preventing students from advancing their knowledge will create more disparities and social inequalities (Tomlinson, 2017). Moreover, it would not be just to discriminate against others due to their abilities. Thus, improving the system by targeting careers and specific skills using STEM education is better, as this will benefit all individuals.
Conclusion
High-quality and valuable education is critical to the positive advancement of communities and the US since it allows more individuals to think abstractly and develop solutions to human challenges. As a result, the diminishing value of education can prevent many individuals from excelling and lead to societal problems such as higher poverty levels.
Students who attend college have dreams and ambitions they hope to achieve, but they experience limitations because of the current system. Thus, championing equality, informing students of what to expect, sufficiently preparing them, and collaborating with employees in designing curricula can assist them in realizing their dreams and life goals.
An individual’s ability to secure a job after graduation is critical to life satisfaction. Therefore, education systems should do more to ensure students advance after college and excel in their endeavors.
References
Jacobson, C. (2021). Bridging the gap between curriculum and career. CAEL. Web.
Jain M. (2019). Transitioning from College to Job. TED. Web.
Malin, J. R., Bragg, D. D., & Hackmann, D. G. (2017). College and career readiness and the Every Student Succeeds Act. Educational Administration Quarterly, 53(5), 809–838. Web.
Morgan, K. (2021). Why inexperienced workers can’t get entry-level jobs. BBC Worklife. Web.
Palmer, R. T., Maramba, D. C., & Gasman, M. (2012). Fostering the success of ethnic and racial minorities stems from the role of minority-serving institutions. Routledge.
Tomlinson, M. (2017). Forms of graduate capital and their relationship to graduate employability. Education + Training, 59(4), 338–352. Web.