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The world of work has changed dramatically. Technological advances and an increasingly global economy and labor market are disrupting the workplace and changing how and where work gets done. Many of the occupations and skill sets in high demand today didn’t exist just a decade ago.
In addition, today’s college graduates are joining a global workforce where they are expected to collaborate and work with peers from different countries, cultures and perspectives. Inclusive leadership, cultural competency and the ability to collaborate and work effectively across a range of differences have become essential components of a student’s employability profile.
As the demand for highly educated and highly skilled workers increases, so does the urgency to improve the retention and degree completion rates of marginalized student populations, as well as their retention and advancement rates once they are in the workplace.
Higher education institutions and corporations alike have critical roles to play in preparing the workforce of the future, and the opportunities for collaboration to ensure that these challenges are addressed are numerous.
Throughout this paper we highlight some of the innovative approaches both higher education institutions and corporations are employing to tackle these issues, and ways some are collaborating to do so.