“Today the knowledge economy is giving way to a relationship economy, in which people skills and social abilities are going to become even more core to success than ever before.” New York Times

Innovation and Leadership competencies are highly valued in the 21st century. 

• Leadership and Innovation competencies are inevitably important in this fast-changing world. The Pearson Skills Outlook report (2022) suggests the most sought-after skills for employers are leadership, collaboration, communication, attention to detail, and customer service.
• With the Artificial Intelligence (AI) development boom, employers all around the world highly regard the skills that AI tools cannot fulfill, such as human intuition, judgment, nuanced decision-making, cultural and ethical comprehension, creativity, and innovation. According to Deloitte (2017), by 2030 two thirds of the jobs would require these essential skills.

• A recent New York Times article spotlighted the importance of “people skills” (long time undervalued as soft skills) during this time of rapid advancements in Artificial Intelligence (AI). Research by LinkedIn estimates that more than 500 jobs will be affected by generative AI technologies and 96 percent of a software engineer’s technical skills, such as programming language proficiency, be eventually performed by generative AI.

• The fast-growing skill shift in the world of working urges the need for human skills such as collaboration, communication, and leadership, all offered by the Pathways program, to manage and use AI technologies effectively and ethically. 

“In the past, jobs were about muscles. Now they’re about brains, but in the future, they’ll be about the heart.” (Minouche Shafik, the President of Columbia University)

• Employers look for candidates with experience and career competencies. The most valued career competencies are communication, teamwork, critical thinking, problem-solving skills, and professionalism (NACE Job Outlook 2024). 
• Employers rate recent graduates' leadership competency as the lowest out of eight career readiness competencies (NACE Job Outlook 2024).

9 out of 10 employers seek candidates with strong problem-solving and communication skills (NACE Job Outlook 2024). 

• 75% of the employers who participate in NACE’s 2023 Recruiting Benchmarks Survey indicated that they value certificates earned in college.
• Students self-evaluate themselves to be more competent than employers on seven out of eight NACE competencies. For example, while students rate themselves as 70% proficient in leadership, employers evaluate their competency as 33%. This gap is the same for professionalism and communication skills (NACE, 2019).

Micro-credentials are valuable indicators of achievement and competencies.

Evidence shows that a degree does not always showcase graduates' competencies or give a full picture of the learning experiences. To tackle this challenge, many colleges and universities (for example, SUNY, FIU, UMS) are implementing micro-credential programs to fill this gap.

Micro-credentials are short, focused, and stackable recognition for specific skills and experiences. Completion of a micro-credential grants a digital badge.

Micro-credentials are not a replacement for certificates, minors, or degree programs. But they are supplements to a degree.

A digital badge is a visual symbol of accomplishment that represents a specific skill or competency. Digital badges are verifiable by Open Badge standards and can be shared publicly on social media and LinkedIn. 

Employers value micro-credentials earned in college. According to AAC&U (2023), 68% of employers expressed that they would prefer to hire a college graduate who also has a micro-credential.  

Micro-credentials are:

• Skills-focused
• Stackable
• Supplemental to college degrees
• Verifiable with metadata
• Representations of interests, capabilities, and achievements

Aiming for "impactful" learning integration

Many students engage in numerous in and out-of-classroom learning opportunities throughout their time in college. Those include, but are not limited to, student employment, campus leadership, college ambassador, club member, internship, and varying class projects. Most of the time, students transfer what they learned in one context to another without being fully aware of how this learning integration helps them develop important transferable skills. For example, oral communication skills developed by being a college ambassador help them to give a successful presentation in class, or vice versa. The CALS Pathways program aims to support students to better integrate their high-impact, hands-on learning experiences through various guided reflections and crafting their own narratives around their experiences and skills for career and life-long success.

• High-Impact Practices (HIPs) such as internships, undergraduate research, global learning, and collaborative projects have been recognized for their positive influence on student learning and competency development by many scholars. For example, Arikan and colleagues (2022) found that one HIP can have 18 different positive effects on student learning, such as motivation, social responsibility, personal growth, social development, sense of belonging, knowledge transfer, and job readiness. The most prevalent effects were observed in students’ critical thinking, communication, and collaboration skills.
• Because HIPs challenge student perspectives and provide opportunities to practice critical thinking and problem-solving skills, they are significantly important tools for developing students’ leadership and innovation competencies (Coyle & Strong, 2022).

Employers prioritize major, internship, and co-curricular experiences than GPA (NACE Job Outlook 2024).

• While researchers recommend employing course-based opportunities (Kinzie & Akyuz, 2022) for preparing students for the world of work, college co-curricular programs continue to provide substantial support for the development of career and life-ready competencies.
• Research indicates that HIPs enhance student engagement, retention, and success of underrepresented students, such as students of color and first-generation students (Kinzie & Manke, 2022).