PREPARING HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS FOR THE WORK FORCE 1

Literature Review: Preparing High School Students for the Work Force
Ann Nipper
University of Idaho
CTE 430
Fall 2018
Carol Billing
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Introduction

Career and technical education (CTE) has the unique role in preparing students for life

after high school. High school students may go straight off to college to pursue academic

development, or they may enter the work force directly. The important task for educators is to

prepare students to be successful in the whatever they pursue. Some of the most important

abilities future employers look for are interpersonal skills. Other important and desirable traits

include technical and cognitive skills. Educators must be prepared and trained well enough in

order to teach and promote a well-rounded set of skills to high school students in order for them

to be the most successful. Teachers should embrace a culture of shifting roles in which educators

act more of a facilitator in order to provided unique, project-based learning for students that will

promote a variety of necessary skills needed in today’s world.

Article #1: Executive Perceptions of the Top 10 Soft Skills Needed in Today’s Workplace

Robles (2012) defined hard skills as the technical expertise and knowledge needed for the

job. Soft skills are defined as interpersonal qualities or “people skills” and personal attributes

that one possesses (Robles, 2012). This study identified the most important soft skills that were

perceived by business executives. These skills included: integrity, communication, courtesy,

responsibility, social skills, positive attitude, professionalism, flexibility, teamwork, and work

ethic. Integrity and communication were expressed as the most sought after soft skills for

employees. Courtesy was the next skill that was deemed extremely important. This article stated

that simply having the technical skills required to do a job are no longer enough in today’s world.

Employers were found to be looking for a set of soft skills in order to have productive

performance in the workplace (Robles, 2012). People skills was described as a form of soft skills

that characterize a person’s relationship with others (Robles, 2012). Robles (2012) stated that
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“people skills” are the foundation of good customer service, and customer service skills are

critical to professional success in almost any job.” (pg. 457). This study expressed a need for

business educators to not only focus on educational/academic curriculum in the classroom, but

on soft skills in order to prepare students for their future careers. According to employers, high

school seniors were deemed more employable if they possessed a number of the interpersonal

qualities listed above. In fact, it was stated that giving students soft skills could make the

difference in their being hired for a job (Robles, 2012). Lack of soft skills was indicated to be a

reason for employers to seek other candidates during job interviews. Robles (2012) stated, “hard

skills will get you an interview but you need soft skills to get (and keep) the job.” (pg. 460).

Business educators can incorporate soft skills into the curriculum in the following ways (Robles,

2012):

1. Introduce students to basic people skills so that they learn to get along with others.

2. Teach essential customer service skills.

3. Foster students understanding by facilitating a problem solving discussion based on real-

life situation

4. Use role playing in a mock business setting.

Overall, business executives considered interpersonal skills to be an extremely importance

attribute in the workplace for future applicants. Business educators must prepare students for a

wide range of employability skills.

Article #2: Preparing High School Students for a Changing World: College, Career, and

Future Ready Leaders

Fletcher, Hernandez, & Warren (2018) discussed the importance of promoting college

and career readiness in high school. Academic preparation was stated as not being enough in
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terms of preparing high school students for life after high school. This case recommended

teachers to work to establish a balanced curriculum to incorporate work place readiness skills in

the classroom (Fletcher, et. al., 2018). A balanced curriculum would consist of academic,

personal responsibility, and technical skills. Work-based learning was highly recommended in

order to give students a hands-on approach to real-life work situations. Project-based learning

was also deemed a powerful teaching tool in order to promote a balanced, integrated curriculum.

All of these concepts were seen as essential elements of high quality CTE programs (Fletcher, et

al., 2018). Teachers were encouraged to lead as a facilitator in project-based activities in order to

allow students to take on roles that honed their specific skill sets.

Similarities and Differences

Both articles expressed the need for educators to prepare students for future careers after

high school. Employability skills were a frequent topic of discussion. The first article primarily

focused on soft skills as a necessary employability quality. The second article focused more on a

whole, well-rounded student as most employable. The second article offered tools for teachers to

create a balanced curriculum full of projects, work-based learning opportunities and rigorous

academics. The first article offered ideas for educators in order to promote interpersonal skills in

the classroom. Teaching is a fast-changing discipline. Both articles presented the teacher in a

new role as a facilitator of learning rather than someone who just passes on information.

Conclusion

It is clear that having strong interpersonal skills will make one more employable in

today’s world. It is important for educators and future educators to play an active role in

promoting these vital employability skills into everyday CTE curriculum.

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References

Fletcher, Edward C., Hernandez-Gantes, & Victor M., Warren, Natalie Q. (2018). Preparing high

school students for a changing world: College, career, and future ready learners. Career

and Technical Education Research, 43(1), 77

Robles, Marcel M. (2012). Executive perceptions of the top 10 soft skills needed in today’s

workplace. Business Communication Quarterly, 75(4), 453-465