Part 1: Career Readiness Journey Management: Standardize to Personalize

According to the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report, 50% of all employees will require reskilling by 2025 as technology and AI continue to advance. Parallel to this, a LinkedIn survey reveals a significant disconnect in the job market: while 92% of professionals acknowledge the crucial role of soft skills—deeming them as important, if not more important, than hard skills—only 37% of employers believe their entry-level employees possess the necessary soft skills to succeed.

Schools and educators are on the front lines of tackling this growing challenge. Their role continually extends beyond traditional classroom instruction and are now responsible for preparing students for a variety of diverse career paths and skill sets. As the complexity of job requirements increases and the demand for personalized educational pathways escalates, the limitations of traditional, linear, and one-size-fits-all approaches to career readiness are becoming increasingly apparent.

A survey of career programs across various schools would likely reveal a diverse range of initiatives. For instance, some schools might engage a student’s interest in architecture through direct discussions with professional architects, while others might host comprehensive events and develop structured approaches to partnership and experience management. No matter the maturity stage of a school’s career program, there is a compelling opportunity to adapt strategies traditionally used in enterprise B2B Customer Success Management.

Career Readiness Journey Management

Customer Success is an approach used in the corporate sector focused on monitoring, tracking, and optimizing the customer journey to consistently achieve desired outcomes.  Career Readiness Journey Management leverages best practices from customer success to help career teams move beyond the traditional one-size-fits-all model of career program to:

• Personalize Support: Customizing the career readiness experience to align with individual students’ needs and aspirations drives higher engagement and gives students more agency over their own pathway.
• Plan Proactively: By anticipating potential challenges, educators can make more targeted career experience recommendations.
• Deliver Student Outcomes: Setting clear milestones within the career readiness journey allows educators to track progress effectively and adjust pathway strategies in real-time.

Pillars of Career Readiness Journey Management

• Mapping the Journey: Educators create visual maps of key readiness milestones and activities.
• Data & Insights Analysis: Collecting and analyzing data on student engagement enables educators to tailor career experiences more effectively to individual pathway needs.
• Orchestration: This involves strategic coordination of career activities and resources, mentorship, and support, tailored to the individual progress and skill needs of each student.

Who Benefits From This?

Implementing this framework offers benefits across the career readiness ecosystem:

• Students: They receive a tailored experience that directly supports their career objectives, enhancing both their engagement in the learning process and their success in the job market.
• Educators and Career Advisors: With detailed insights from journey mapping and analytics, these professionals can offer more precise guidance and support, directly enhancing their effectiveness in preparing students for successful careers.
• Employers & Partners: Employers & partners benefit from candidates who are better prepared and whose capabilities closely match the needs of their industries, reducing the time and cost associated with onboarding and training.

Conclusion

Adopting Career Readiness Journey Management can fundamentally change how educators prepare students for their future careers. By standardizing to personalize, this strategy paves the way for a more effective career experience through strategic elements like journey mapping, data analysis, and journey orchestration. Part 2 of this series will give practical instructions on how to think about mapping your school’s career readiness journey.