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Every two years, America Succeeds analyzes 82 million job descriptions. Researchers found that eight of the top ten most in-demand skills are not taught explicitly in schools, according to Tim Taylor, Co-founder and President of America Succeeds, and one of the edLeader Panelists on “From College and Career Readiness Silos to Connected Student Experiences: Sparking Enrollment and Excitement.”

“Durable skills” are five times more sought after than technical skills, according to the study. Yet these skills are often the most underdeveloped in recent graduates. Sixty percent of employers who hired a Gen Z student quickly fired them because they lacked these skills, according to recent news reports.

What are durable skills?  “Critical thinking, collaboration, communication skills, how you show up in the world, your leadership, your metacognition. Those really are future-proof skills,” said Taylor.

The panelists argued that K–12 systems must create integrated, flexible pathways that prepare students for both college and careers. As artificial intelligence reshapes the workplace, they said, schools must help students develop the durable skills needed to succeed in a rapidly changing economy.

How North Carolina Prepares Students—An Example for All

In North Carolina, districts are tying academic measures to career readiness through tools like MetaMetrics’ Lexile and Quantile frameworks, which map reading and math skills to the demands of “bright outlook” careers.  Results provide a snapshot of academic readiness for a range of careers, including medicine and statistics, helping students work on reading, math, and other skills needed to pursue their interests.

“It’s not going to be something that’s going to be magic for every student, but giving them that control over their destiny is so important for motivation, and that’s something that we’re seeing across the country,” said Chris Minnich, CEO of MetaMetrics.

Results can also serve as a checkpoint for districts and educators to assess how students’ reading or math progress aligns with career benchmarks.

In Rockingham County Schools, students in sixth grade participate in career exploration labs using PACS (a post-acute care nursing platform), Paxton/Patterson’s hands-on career lab modules, and MajorClarity by Edmentum, a program that helps students map academic planning to careers of interest.

“We purposely set these labs up where they align to the feeder high schools, and they also start aligning to CC (Community College) pathways and CTE (Career and Technical Education) pathways at our community colleges,” said Nina Walls, Career and Technical Education (CTE) Director for Rockingham County Schools. Students explore what they like, and, equally important, they realize what they don’t want to pursue, she explained.

Early career exploration drives engagement, motivates students, and is linked to reduced academic barriers, such as chronic absenteeism. But it’s also important for schools to help students turn those skills “into the ability to earn a living wage and realize lifelong learner success,” said Brad Baumgartner, Edmentum’s Chief Growth Officer. Echoing efforts in North Carolina, the panelists recommend K–12 systems embed foundational reading, math, and other academic skills into career-connected learning, so that students are not just informed about their options, but prepared to pursue them. Baumgartner added that designing flexible and personalized pathways for all students means building an ecosystem that values career and college destinations equally, helping spark excitement for individual goals.

Linking Academic Skills to Career Success

Minnich said that educators do not have to teach career skills in one block and then go back to ELA and mathematics in another. “I think we don’t have to stop teaching ELA and math in order to do durable skills. We need to do both,” he said. He explained that, nationally, schools are not seeing enough reading growth between fourth and eighth grades.

Deep content knowledge in ELA is essential for becoming a proficient reader, and reading proficiency is fundamental to career advancement. Career-interest conversations, building background knowledge, and expanding vocabulary are simple yet necessary ways for educators to combine skills and motivate students.

Learn more about this edWeb broadcast, From College and Career Readiness Silos to Connected Student Experiences: Sparking Enrollment and Excitement, sponsored by Edmentum.

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Edmentum believes that every student deserves the opportunity to thrive everywhere learning occurs—whether they seek to catch up, stay on track, or chart their own path. When you pair Edmentum’s comprehensive, research-backed learning acceleration solutions—including digital curriculum and courses, K-12 diagnostic-driven personalized intervention, and virtual instruction—with empowered and supported educators, you can change the direction of students’ lives. We partner with K-12 educators in all 50 states and 100+ countries worldwide to design, implement, and sustain the programs that deliver on this shared promise of learning acceleration for every student.

Article by Suzanne Bell, based on this edLeader Panel