Available via license: CC BY 4.0
Content may be subject to copyright.
Ejiwale, J.A. (2014). Limiting Skills Gap Effect on Future College Graduates.
Journal of Education and Learning. Vol.8 (3) pp. 209-216.
Limiting Skills Gap Effect on Future College Graduates
James A. Ejiwale
*
Jackson State University
Abstract
Many graduates upon graduation from college or university find it difficult to get the job they planned to enter
after they leave school. Employers are claiming that the new graduates are not equipped with the necessary skills
required to work for them. Hence, they are not hirable. Obviously, it is easy to shift blame on academic for
failing to prepare students with the necessary skills to be gainfully employed upon graduation. However, this is
an issue that needs to be addressed jointly by all stakeholders involved in educating these potential college
graduates while in school. This article addresses what skills gap is, some of its causes, and what to be done by
students, educators and the industry to limit its effect on the future college graduates.
Keywords: Computational thinking, technical skills, Skills gap, Soft skills
*
James A. Ejiwale, Associate Professor, Jackson State University, College of Science, Engineering, &
Technology, Department of Technology, Jackson, MS 39217
E-mail: james.a.ejiwale@jsums.edu
210 Limiting Skills Gap Effect on Future College Graduates
Introduction
Education is a wise investment anyone can make. This amounts to one of the many reasons
why many people are getting college education. In addition, they want to be gainfully employed upon
graduation. Unfortunately, that story has changed. Sadly, getting college education in today’s world and
economy does not guarantee any job offer because “employers are skeptical of recent graduates”
(Yashchin, 2014). As a matter of fact, many college graduates upon graduation are just realizing that
they are not qualified to be hired by their potential employers owing to the fact that they do not possess
the required skills the employers are looking for in college graduates. Therefore, “an increasing number
of disillusioned grads are taking jobs decidedly below their level of education” (Yashchin, 2014). While
college grads have gone to school to be educated with degrees in their respective field of study, their
preparation is still short of what the potential employer is looking for before they are employed. This
situation is due to a “skills gap” effect (Schepp, 2013; Yashchin, 2014). This article will discuss what
skills gap is, its causes and what to be done by students, educators and the industry to reduce or
eliminate skills gap effect on the future college graduates.
What is skills gap?
Many authors have attempted to define skills gap from different perspectives. According to
Kanter (2013) it is defined as a “mismatch between open jobs and skills.” Spiegel (2013) asserted that
skills gap is “a mismatch between the education and skills that many Americans have and what
employers need.” According to ASTD (2012) a skills gap is defined as:
a significant gap between an organization’s current capabilities and the skills it needs to achieve its
goals. It is the point at which an organization can no longer grow or remain competitive because it
cannot fill critical jobs with employees who have the right knowledge, skills, and abilities.
The context for skills gap and economic restructuring
Many organizations and companies often complain about the difficulty of getting recent
college graduates with the required skills and adequate training for available jobs (Kanter, 2013). This
struggle by American industry to fill the open positions is said to be a mismatch between the education
and skills that many Americans have and what employers need (Spigel 2013). However, this shortage of
qualified workforce that has continued to impact industry’s productivity has the potential for negative
impact on the nation’s economy.
More importantly, this mismatch between open jobs and skills (Kanter, 2013) that is not
unique to the U.S. businesses and industries but global is consequential. Notably, the price is stiff when
communities, states, regions, and entire nations cannot find or equip workers with the right skills for
critical jobs. However, other nations and their businesses have discovered ways of addressing the issue
before it gets out of hands. Therefore it behooves all businesses and industries around the globe
particularly in the U.S. to identify what constitute the biggest gaps in workplace readiness and find
solutions to it. All hands must be on deck.
Some causes of skills gap and what should be done to limit its effect
“If an organization is to become successful it must operate efficiently and effectively by
identifying the skill gaps that exist with employees (Richardson, n.d.). There is a skills gap and it is
necessary to fix this problem. The knowledge of its causes is important so as to be able to diagnose the
right solutions. Some of the causes are:
Poor preparation of students in elementary and high schools
Many repots have cited poor preparation of the students in high school before entering colleges
as one of the main causes of the mismatch between open jobs and skills (Kanter, 2013). Erickson (2013)
observed that this “problem starts with learning standards that are too often not aligned with college and
career needs and the reality that many students are moving from grade to grade without meeting even
those misaligned standards.”
Definitely when the educational foundation is bad, whatever is built upon such foundation will
not hold very well. More importantly, good teacher education should be fostered to enhance effective
teaching and learning. Since high school students are the future workforce, it is essential that they get
strong educational background. While in school, they should be prepared to successfully engage in an
academic experience that will help prepare them for their future career.
Ejiwale, J. (2014). Journal of Education and Learning. Vol.8 (2) pp. 209-216. 211
Lack of STEM education and diversity in STEM industry
In some communities, STEM education and training are not offered in their schools. These
minorities in underserved or struggling school districts are at risk of being left behind if care is not
taken. “Unlike their more affluent counterparts, students who live in underserved communities typically
lack access to what are now considered STEM basics: up-to-date laboratories, laptop or tablet
computers and access to the Internet” (Williams 2014). There should be equal educational opportunities
for all and no community should be marginalized.
Williams (2014) observed that black and Latino students make up less than 20 percent of those
studying in science- or math-based disciplines in colleges. In addition, the 2012 statistics from the U.S.
Department of Labor, indicates that minorities make up less than 5 percent of the STEM-based
workforce on the job. This population constitute the minority groups in our society. More importantly,
there should be concerted effort to increase diversity in STEM industries to ensure that the underserved
communities are reached. One way to do this could be through the provision of a rigorous Summer
STEM education program and Saturday Academy for these unreached students in low-income areas.
Lack of employers’ involvement in curriculum development
For education to lead to jobs, employers should be involved (Kanter, 2013). For companies to
make an impact, partnerships with universities to help prepare graduates for the workplace should be
established (Freeman, 2013). Employers’ should be involved in curriculum development so that all
necessary competencies are jointly identified and implemented in the curriculum. “Businesses can
communicate their immediate and anticipated needs so that educational institutions can develop
programs to train students for the necessary skills” (Spiegel 2013). In addition, case studies that are at
the heart of many business schools syllabi must evolve to include real time "live" dialogue on real
business issues both inside the classroom with company executives, and outside the classroom through
consulting assignments, research projects, case competitions and internships (Freeman 2013).
Poor communication skills by college graduates
Poor communication skills by college graduate is said to be one of the biggest gaps in their
workplace readiness. Definitely in the present day and time, it is a problem if you come out of school
with great technical skills, but you can't write well or do a cogent presentation (Nolop, 2013). Many
students upon graduation from the university lack effective writing skills because many schools are not
placing sufficient emphasis on writing and grammar as it used to be in the past. As such students
entering the workforce upon graduation with poor communication skills will not be able to write
effective memos, letters, and technical reports (Nolop 2013). More importantly, the syllabus on business
communication course should be revamped by increasing the learning methods in areas like writing
essays and research papers (Nolop 2013). In addition, specialized courses in business communications
should be offered.
Lack of learning how to learn skills by students
Learning how to learn on the job is an essential skill for a fresh college graduate.
Unfortunately, not many schools teach students this skill. According to Freeman (2013) as technology
develops rapidly, the life span of any body of "knowledge" reduces. In addition, as information
technology automates more, many professions and traditional jobs are destroyed in the industries. This
should be an eye opener for all stakeholders in the education business. Students should realize that in
today’s world, to be successful, they must be flexible and creative. “The new world rewards diversity,
not uniformity. And being different, apart from possessing hard knowledge, requires "soft skills" and
personality traits that are not taught in most of today's universities; such as social intelligence, passion,
curiosity, optimism and, especially, common sense” (Freeman 2013).
No employer is willing to hire a college graduate with no potential of adding value to the
success or productivity of that organization. Therefore, it is now a necessity for students to make effort
to become a valuable employee to their potential employers. “Blaming institutions, faculty or political
leaders for the failure of a student who simply doesn't make the effort necessary to be a valuable
employee is not helping that student. Instead, it is better for the students to know “that there always has
and always will be a direct correlation between effort and results” (Kerrey, 2013).
Poor marketing of available job
Poor marketability of the jobs available could be blamed for industry inability to fill critical
jobs with employees who have the right qualifications and skills. When nobody speaks about a job that
is available, there will be no perception of it. Definitely there will be no aspiration by the potential
212 Limiting Skills Gap Effect on Future College Graduates
employee. When there is marketing or perception problem, there will be scarcity of the qualified
workforce. Therefore, this situation is attributable to a national or individual relationship with work and
not necessarily due to a skills gap. On the other hand, an interest or a will gap could be the reasons if the
jobs that are available are available primarily because people don’t want them. If certain jobs are
marginalized as jobs with no future or career possibility, potential employees may not want these jobs.
When a better case is made for other vocations when it’s about time to go to college, students may
gravitate to this stigma or stereotype and in the end decline to pursue educational programs with
potential for better careers. As such poor advertisement of job’s availability could lead to lack of
perception.
Companies don't want to invest in training new employees
The purpose of college education is to provide students with some skills set to navigate
through life. However, upon graduation when gainfully employed, there is need for some training for a
new hire straight out of school. Unfortunately, companies don't want to train people fresh from college
any more. Instead, they prefer to hire trained or “certified” people for the jobs. This could be a trade
school graduate that is narrowly trained in whatever they need – graduates without discernible skills.
The problem here is twofold: On the one hand, employers do not want to take on the expense to invest
in and train graduates who will leave right afterwards and on the other, they do not want to pay fair
American wages for experienced hires.
Spiegel (2013) attributed the problem that led to mismatch between open jobs and skills to be a
training gap and not skills gap. Therefore, employers should offer the opportunity for student training
through apprenticeship, internship and cooperative educational experiences. This will reduce the effect
of students gaining worthless certificates through dodgey courses that lack training as basic as handling
tools. More importantly, apprenticeships will benefit both the employee and the employers. While it can
offer an opportunity for workers to get the exact skills they need, it can as well offer a precise match
between the skills employers want and the training workers receive (Weber, 2014).
Poor estimation of STEM worker demand
It has been observed that inaccurate estimation of the STEM worker demand is a challenge
(Kim, 2014). According to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, the author partly
blamed the demand for STEM workers on the economic conditions that fluctuates. As a result, it has
been difficult to tell whether the nation has enough workers in science, technology, engineering and
mathematics and related careers. In the same report, statistics on students seeking STEM degrees do not
translate to STEM workforce numbers because many graduates take jobs outside their majors.” As an
example from the GAO report, only 38 percent of people in 2012 with STEM bachelor’s degrees
worked in a STEM job while sixty-two percent worked in non-STEM jobs. Due to these reasons, it may
be difficult to conclude that skills gap has resulted from poor preparation of the college students upon
graduation but due to poor estimation error.
Lack of clarity on the skills employers need
Despite many discussions about skills gap and possible solutions, it still remain unclear which
skills Americans are lacking. However, Schepp (2013) sums up employers claim that “today's
workforce lacks a combination of skills.” While each company looks for a different mix of skills and
experience based on the nature of the business (Lorenz, 2014), potential college graduate looking for
job in today’s economy should be well prepared in both technical and interpersonal (soft skills). More
importantly, it is a fact that hiring managers are also looking for soft skills. This is “a cluster of personal
qualities, habits, attitudes and social graces that make someone a good employee and compatible to
work with” (Lorenz, 2014; Schepp, 2013).
Lack of on the job training by professors.
Technology develops rapidly (Freeman, 2013), thus the life span of any body of "knowledge"
has become shorter than ever before. More importantly, information technology automates more.
Educators should be aware of this impact and the need to strive hard to catch up as quickly as possible.
Skills gap has caught educators off guard. Students should realize that in today’s world, to be
successful, they must be flexible and creative. For educators to keep up, it would be necessary for
professors to alternate between instruction and their own 'OJT' in private industry - one year working,
one year teaching (Newman 2013). In addition, three to five years industrial and hands-on experience
should be required of a potential college professor before he or she is hired to teach in technology or
engineering field. Influx of fresh college graduates with doctorate degrees in disciplines that requires
Ejiwale, J. (2014). Journal of Education and Learning. Vol.8 (2) pp. 209-216. 213
hands-on experience without industrial experience will constitute a disservice to the students that will
become the future workforce.
Implication for students, educators and the industry
There is sense of urgency in creating the workforce needed to increase economic growth by the
United States so as to be able to produce large quantity of the world’s global output. Simply put, while
the onus should be on those that train and not on those who need to be trained, it is imperative that all
stakeholders (students, educators, and the industry) in the matter should brace up.
Students
“Gone are the days when one could graduate college, knowing that rewarding work was
available in one’s field of study” (Yashchin, 2014). The fact is that you need to learn more skills after
spending four years in college to secure a well-paid position in the workforce. Maintaining the status
quo will not help because your higher education return on investment will be far lower than you might
have been led to believe while entering the college. However, there is still hope for better things to
come and it starts with you. According to Kerrey (2013) in his article titled “Students: Closing the skills
gap has to begin with you,” the author suggested the following three things that need to happen to get
companies the skilled graduates they need. They are:
The first is to recognize that this problem of employers not finding graduates with the right skills is
more likely to solve itself from the bottom up rather than yielding to new demands from the top.
The college choices of millions of students are going to be affected by the availability of new
information about which degrees and institutions are most successful in preparing graduates for
employment. Faculty and university administrators who want their students to succeed, as well as
businesses that are making it increasingly clear what they need, are already responding to this
challenge.
Second, we must insist that community colleges, which are on the front lines of workforce
development, use available research to ensure that their remedial education efforts are directed at
helping students become workforce ready. Regional and state regulators must make it easier for
new entrants—especially those institutions that are using research to make clear what cognitive
skills employers need and what technologies will make it easier for students to gain access to those
skills.
Third, individual students should understand that they bear a significant responsibility for
understanding what employers want. The best way to get that understanding is on-the-job training.
Any student who does not work while they are going to school, or who waits until their last
semester to begin to plan for life after college, is in for a rude awakening.
Educators
As observed by Erickson (2013) “elementary- and secondary-school learning standards are not
well aligned with college expectations, neither are college curricula fully aligned with workforce
needs.” The problem of the learning standards that are too often not aligned with college and career
needs to be addressed. It is a disservice to the students and the nation as a whole when many students
are allowed to move from grade to the other grade without meeting even those misaligned standards.
“Our high schools must produce graduates who can meet the demands of the global economy” (Murray,
2011). This means ensuring that all students are graduating with the college-level academic preparation
and the real-world skills demanded by our colleges, universities, and employers.
In addition, colleges and universities should partner with local community colleges and high
schools to help develop a pipeline of qualified, enthusiastic college ready technology and engineering
students. Industrial and engineering departments should work with high school teachers to help develop
curriculums that will prepare students to study industrial technology and engineering at the college
level. This way, we can balance the need for direct contact with students and working together with
teachers to ensure they have the tools necessary to prepare students.
More importantly, educators, administrators and policy makers should understand that STEM
education should be allowed to find students and not vice versa. It should be allowed to happen and not
forced. When the kids are reached and encouraged to do the activities they want to do, and you don’t
force it, they will be willing to take interest. Simply put, give students the opportunities to fall in love
with STEM in K-12.
There should be partnership between higher institutions of learning and the industry on
curriculum development, syllabi review, training of potential workforce products and the determination
of the required competency. "Competency" consists of the skills and knowledge required by employees
214 Limiting Skills Gap Effect on Future College Graduates
to effectively perform their jobs or specific tasks that you assign to them from time to time. It can
include talent or natural skill (Strategic-Human-Resources.com). This collaboration is necessary to
share information on how to better prepare college or university student upon graduation so as to
become a productive workforce. Industry personnel should be co-opted into the program’s advisory
board membership. Meetings should be held on curriculum development and course syllabus review
and laboratory set up. Employers should have a say in the type of equipment to be procures more so that
it is the same that the potential employee will use upon graduation when employed.
Industry
Companies often complain they are not getting graduates with the skills they need (Kerrey,
2013). More importantly, “If an organization is to become successful it must operate efficiently and
effectively by identifying the skill gaps that exist with employees (Richardson, n.d.). Limiting the skills
gap effects on the future college graduates is a shared responsibility among students, educators and the
industry. While there are many proffered solutions to this problem, the fact still remains of the need to
identify and close the skills gap. There are several techniques and different types of skill gap analysis
materials that are available to help identify these gaps depending on the needs of the individual
company or organization (Richardson, n.d; Parker, n.d.). However, for skill gap analysis to be effective,
it must be performed regularly (O’Farrell, n.d.).
More importantly, determining employees’ competency gap to facilitate training and talent
management is essential. The awareness of “the disparity or difference between the existing abilities
and skills of your employees and what are expected of them in achieving the objectives that you want
them to achieve” (Strategic-Human-Resources.com) will be the basis of the information passed on to
the educators through partnership for efficient curriculum development. This will help in finding
solutions to the skills and knowledge gap problems. Since it is necessary to determine the skills and
knowledge gaps of employees, it is necessary to determine the following:
the types of competencies required to perform the job well,
the required competencies level required of the employee
industry competency standard for each of the position in the organization (Strategic-Human-
Resources.com).
Conclusion
Employers, Students, educators, employers, and government should continue in their efforts to
close the skills gap. There is need for paradigm shift across the board. Students should cultivate the
habit of getting prepared to become a valuable employee to their employers. Point blank, no employer
will hire a college graduate with no guarantee of adding value to the productivity of the organization
they work. Simply put, it is a waste. As a self starter on a job if fortunate to be hired, the employee
should hit the ground with the ability of learning to learn while on the job.
More importantly, students should be well prepared with both the technical and interpersonal
skills. Preparation in one of it alone is not what the employers are after. More importantly, students
should remember always that “whether you are applying for a service position or a technical job, it's
your combination of core and soft skills that will set you apart from the crowd” (Lorenz, 2014). In
addition, learn to sell your potentials very well when job hunting. It is imperative to focus on the skills
most likely to interest the prospective employer and learn to demonstrate these skills through your
resume, during an interview or during career fairs.
Companies value soft skills because research suggests and experience shows that they can be
just as important an indicator of job performance as hard skills” (Lorenz, 2014). The implication for
educators is to revise their curriculum to include information on strong work ethics path to success on
the job. More importantly, each course objective should be written in measurable terms so as to verify if
their students have mastered each skill set.
References
American Society for Training & Development (2012). Bridging the skills gap. Help wanted, skills
lacking: Why the mismatch in today’s economy?
Barrett-Poindexter, J. (October 09, 2013). Why You Need To Include Soft Skills On Your Resume.
Retrieved from http://www.glassdoor.com/blog/include-soft-skills-resume/
. MRW Blog
Ejiwale, J. (2014). Journal of Education and Learning. Vol.8 (2) pp. 209-216. 215
Black Enterprise Magazine (2011). The Digital Divide: Are African-Americans Being Left Behind?
(May 18, 2011; Hajj Flemings) Retrieved from
http://www.blackenterprise.com/2011/05/18/digital-divide/pdf/nsf11309.pdf
.
Erickson, J. (October 2013). How High School and College Are Failing Our Economy (and
Students).Retrieved from http://blogs.wsj.com/experts/2013/10/09/how-high-school-and-
college-are-failing-our-economy-and-students/
Freeman, K. W. (October 9, 2013). The World Has Changed Since the Industrial Revolution, But
Universities Have Not. Retrieved from http://blogs.wsj.com/experts/2013/10/09/the-world-has-
changed-since-the-industrial-revolution-but-universities-have-not/
Higher Education Research Institute at UCLA (2010). Degrees of Success: Bachelor’s Degree
Completion Rates among Initial STEM majors. Retrieved from
http://www.heri.ucla.edu/nih/downloads/2010%20-%20Hurtado,%20Eagan,%20Chang%20-
%20Degrees%20of%20Success.pdf
Kanter, R. M. (October 9, 2013). What’s so bad about vocational education? Retrieved from
http://blogs.wsj.com/experts/2013/10/09/whats-so-bad-about-vocational-education/
Kerrey, B. (October 9, 2013). Students: Closing the skills gap has to begin with you. Retrieved from
http://blogs.wsj.com/experts/2013/10/09/students-closing-the-skills-gap-has-to-begin-with-
you/ The Wall Street Journal
Kim, A. L. (June 10, 2014). Even the GAO Can’t Figure Out if There’s a STEM Worker Shortage.
Retrieved http://blogs.rollcall.com/technocrat/gao-stem-worker-shortage/?dcz=
Lorenz, K. (2014, April). Top 10 soft skills for job hunters: Peoples skills and relationship-building are
the key to success. AOL Jobs. Career Builders.
Murray, L. (2011).High schools are failing to educate our students for college and careers
http://toped.svefoundation.org/2011/07/27/high-schools-are-failing-to-educate-our-students-
for-college-and-careers/. Thoughts on public education.
National Science Foundation (NSF, 2008). Science and Engineering Indicators: 2008. Retrieved from
http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/seind08/c1/c1h.htm
National Science Foundation (NSF, 2011). Science and Engineering Doctorate Awards: 2007-08.
Retrieved from http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/nsf11321/pdf/nsf11321.pdf
National Science Foundation (NSF, 2011). Science and Engineering Doctorate Awards: 2007-08.
Retrieved from http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/nsf11321/pdf/nsf11321.pdf
National Science Foundation (2011). Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science and
Engineering: 2011. Retrieved from http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/wmpd/
Nolop, B. (October 9, 2013). Our graduates can’t write. Retrieved from
http://blogs.wsj.com/experts/2013/10/09/our-college-graduates-cant-write/
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (2009). Education at a Glance 2009: OECD
Indicators; Table A-3.5.
Parker, M.(n.d.). How to identify skill gaps. Retrieved http://www.ehow.com/about 6665021identify-
skill-gap.html
Patane, M. (June 14, 2014). Employers fight against ‘dirty jobs stereotype.
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/money/business/2014/06/14/dirty-jobs-stereotype-
employers-fight/10515025/
216 Limiting Skills Gap Effect on Future College Graduates
Petriglieri, G. (October 2013). Retrieved from http://blogs.wsj.com/experts/2013/10/09/education-isnt-
just-about-churning-out-skilled-employees/
O’Farrell, R. (n.d.). Skill gap analysis. Retrieved http://www.ehow.com/about 5451842 skill-gap-
analysis.html
Schepp, D. (2013). Is the skills gap keeping you from a better career? AOL Jobs. Career Builders.
Tilsey, A. (February 1, 2013). Finding more STEM students. Retrieved from
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/02/01/connecticut-and-texas-aim-grow-stem-
enrollment-take-different-approaches#sthash.uWEuL3S4.dpbs
Spiegel, E. (October 9, 2013). Don't Blame Students for the Jobs-Skills Mismatch. Retrieved from
http://blogs.wsj.com/experts/2013/10/09/dont-blame-students-for-the-jobs-skills-mismatch/
Strategic-Human-Resources.com. Identifying and addressing employees' competency gap.
http://www.strategic-human-resource.com/competency-gap.html
Task Force on the Future of American Innovation (2006). Measuring the Moment: Innovation, National
Security, and Economic Competitiveness. Retrieved from
http://futureofinnovation.org/PDF/BII-FINAL-HighRes-11-14-06_nocover.pdf
.
The College Board (2011). The 7th Annual AP Report to the Nation. Retrieved from
http://apreport.collegeboard.org/
U.S. Department of Labor, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS, 2007). Occupational Outlook
Quarterly: STEM Occupations. Retrieved from
http://www.bls.gov/opub/ooq/2007/spring/art04.pdf
.
U.S. Department of Labor, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS, 2009). Employment Projections
Program. http://www.bls.gov/emp/ep_table_102.htm
U.S. Department of Commerce, Economics and Statistics Administration (ESA,2011). STEM: Good
Jobs Now and for the Future. Retrieved from
http://www.esa.doc.gov/sites/default/files/reports/documents/newstemljuly14.pdf
U.S. Department of Commerce, Economics and Statistics Administration (ESA, 2011). STEM: Good
Jobs Now and for the Future. Retrieved from
http://www.esa.doc.gov/sites/default/files/reports/documents/newstemljuly14.pdf
Weber, L. (April 27, 2014).Apprenticeships help close the skills gap. So why are they in decline? Some
states try extending the practice to more professions.
Williams, J. P. (2014). Bringing STEM Education to Underserved Communities. Retrieved from
http://www.usnews.com/news/stem-solutions/articles/2014/05/29/bringing-stem-education-to-
underserved-communities. US News.
World Economic Forum (2011). The Global Competitiveness Report 2010-2011. Retrieved from
http://reports.weforum.org/global-competitiveness-2011-2012/
.
Yashchin, A. (2014). Redefining education to close the workforce skills gap.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/09/business/economy/stubborn-skills-gap-in-americas-work-
force.html?pagewanted=all&r=0