A Maryland college has been selected for a national initiative to promote career readiness among college students. One staff member explains how focusing on career readiness will help student success.

Bowie State University was selected to take part in Lumina Foundation’s From Campus to Career initiative. The university will receive $100,000 over two years to devote to what higher education professionals call “high-impact practices" – student activities such as internships, research grants and capstone projects that provide hands-on workforce preparation.

Jared Moffett, the university's executive director for experiential learning and career readiness, said the initiative will prepare students to land that first job after graduation.

"This particular initiative through the Lumina Foundation," he said, "is really helping to support and help colleges integrate real-world, career-focused experiences like internships and community-based projects and e-portfolios into academic programs so students are better prepared for the workforce."

The 16 selected campuses represent a large swath of higher-education institutions, from regional public universities to historically Black colleges and universities such as Bowie.

Moffett said students face a more daunting job market than in years past. That includes students who are more often reporting a skills gap between what they learned in school and what an employer demands for a job. He also pointed to experience gaps as more employers seek out prior work experience for entry-level positions. Moffett said those challenges are also shaped by larger shifts in the world, such as the rise of artificial intelligence."

"Students are facing a complex, rapidly evolving job market," he said. "his is shaped by economic and political shifts that are happening, technological changes, including AI and also rising employer expectations."

According to the Federal Reserve, recent college graduates have an unemployment rate of nearly 6%. That marks a major, multi-year increase, signaling one of the toughest job markets for college graduates in a decade.

Source: Public News Service