Page 25 - The South China Business Journal

? Hiring managers cite trade schools (40%) and 4-year
colleges (37%) as top ways to acquire early-career skills.

? Most (89%) hiring managers believe experience is
more valuable than formal education and say that
internships (46%) are a leading way for students to gain
early-career skills.

? The vast majority (92%) of hiring managers said there
should be more business courses in high school.

It¡¯s not all about education and experience though?
harder-to-quantify ¡°soft skills¡± also matter, with many
hiring managers highly valuing these skills:

? At least nine in ten hiring managers say that they
are more likely to hire an entry-level employee that
demonstrates critical thinking/problem solving (94%) or
effective communication skills (90%).

? Nearly all believe it is important that their employees
learn communication (98%), decision making (97%) and
collaboration (94%) before entering the workforce.
The Most Sought After Skill: Financial Literacy
The single skill that hiring mangers most highly value
is financial literacy: The ability to do budgeting and
understand borrowing, credit, and debt.

In fact, almost all hiring managers agree on this topic:

? Nearly all (96%) hiring managers say that financial
literacy skills are valuable for employees who are just
starting their career, including 61% who find them
very valuable.

? Among those who find financial literacy skills
valuable, taxes, net income, and budgeting (42%);
saving and investing (41%); and borrowing, credit, and
debt (39%); are seen as the most valuable financial
knowledge for entry-level workers.

Closing the Gap
To help close this work-readiness gap, College Board is
developing new AP Career Kickstart courses that are
aligned with industry competencies, beginning with AP
Business with Personal Finance and AP Cybersecurity.
These challenging, college-level courses are designed to
build professional career skills and student confidence.

In the survey, 90% of hiring managers say they believe
that the AP Business with Personal Finance course will
have a positive impact on preparing high schoolers to
enter the workforce.

To date, AP Business with Personal Finance and AP
Cybersecurity have been approved by 13 states and
work is underway with the remaining states to bring the
courses to students nationwide.
For this survey, College Board and the U.S. Chamber
of Commerce surveyed 500 hiring managers across
a range of small, mid-sized, and large companies on
perceptions of preparedness for entry-level employees.

SOUTH CHINA BUSINESS JOURNAL 22