The Student Readiness Crisis: A Mandate for Change in Education and the Workforce

This Resource Center brings together research and recommendations from Seramount and EAB to provide employers with insights into the student readiness crisis and its implications on early career talent.

In recent years, a trend has emerged: young people are less prepared for the expectations of education and the workforce. The pandemic exacerbated academic and mental health concerns and has already had lasting consequences on student readiness, with students showing decreased reading and math scores and college students struggling with academic pressures. This decline in student readiness is already contributing to record numbers of young adults opting out of college, potentially threatening the talent pipeline for decades to come.

Employers are reporting that early career professionals often lack the professional presence and durable skills necessary to succeed at work. The culmination of these trends is an urgent and deepening student readiness challenge with implications for the present and future stake of our workforce.