How can we narrow the gap between the skills required by industry and those currently available in college graduates? Essay sample

Every college graduate is familiar with the difficulty landing a job. Studying a serious major at a respectful institution, all of us expect to be accepted by some employers out there. Unfortunately, actual employers do not think so. Businesses do not find college graduates proficient enough and capable of doing their jobs. While more than 70% of educational institutions believe their graduates are ready for work, only 40% of employers agree with them. The skill gap exists in multiple industries. The problem is not that employers do not want to hire college graduates. They rather do not find skilled workforce among former students and have to search for applicants somewhere else. There are a few reasons why it happens so. First, educational institutions are not designed to adjust to the fast-changing market where new jobs appear every decade. Technically, today colleges should prepare students for the jobs that do not exist yet, which is certainly impossible. Another problem is that colleges are not flexible enough. They still teach plenty of academic subjects that do not have any practical importance. The good news is that we still can overcome the skill gap between graduates and employers. Students have to realize that real education is not the 4-years of post-secondary learning. Sometimes they have to take their development into their own hands and take online courses or offline workshops. Employers shall also take steps forwards in interaction with their potential future employees. Companies shall put clearer requirements that are also realistic towards a graduate (5 years of working experience will not do in this case). If colleges are not flexible enough to provide an up-to-date education, students and employers can take over the initiative.