As one of the most popular college majors, our discipline holds a key role in educating students and the larger community about the vast applications of psychological science. Because of its interdisciplinary nature, we are poised to help inform other disciplines about how to better understand behaviors and mental processes in the work that they do. It is the skills that psychology majors acquire that make them equipped to adapt to the dynamic circumstances of various professions.
Globalization and emerging technological advances have transformed what employees are now expected to do (World Economic Forum, 2015). The workforce of the 21st century is placing more demands on faculty and colleges to meet employers’ expectations for sound career preparation (NACE, 2017). There has been a shift from degree completion to skills that are adaptable to diverse job demands (NACE, 2018; NACE, 2019). Higher educational institutions are being asked to play a greater role in forecasting career options and trajectories for students. A key question is: What skills are fundamental to students’ preparation? Psychological science is a very diverse field advancing a multitude of perspectives. We have incredible opportunities to draw attention to our extensive knowledge base, skills and contributions and share them with other disciplines.
In 2017, the APA Committee on Associate and Baccalaureate Education (CABE) convened a group of faculty (Aaron Richmond, Karen Naufel, Drew Appleby, Stacie Spencer, Jason Young, Jerry Rudmann, Paul Hettich, Bernardo Carducci and Jaye Van Kirk) representing diverse colleges and universities to serve on the CABE Task Force on the Skillful Psychology Student. Our objective was to provide psychology majors and faculty information about what employers expect as essential skill sets. By researching job ads across diverse job sectors, the research resulted in a list of five domains and 17 skill sets (PDF, 56KB). Importantly, these skills are acquired in coursework in psychology. While many believe that knowledge of course content continues to be a primary objective of education, career readiness has also become a criteria of student success (Peterson, Wardwell, Will & Campana, 2014). The CABE Task Force provides recommendations for students and faculty about skills necessary to succeed in the 21st century workforce and strategies to teach students about skills employers value (Appleby, Young, Van Kirk, Rudmann, Naufel, Spencer, Hettich, Carducci & Richmond, 2019; Naufel, Spencer, Appleby, Richmond, Rudmann, Van Kirk, Young, Carducci & Hettich, 2019). The resources are currently part of a national dissemination effort through which CABE task force members are working to increase awareness that psychology students possess highly desirable skills.
The trend in industry partnerships enables employers to articulate their needs to the academic community which in turn, provides students with professional development opportunities. By connecting academics to professional experiences, our students acquire skills that make them desirable. Numerous stakeholders benefit from work-based learning experiences. Additionally, the industry gains increased familiarity with skills that psychology majors contribute to the workforce. We are pleased that this information will help increase awareness of students and faculty about the skills we already promote in our curricula. Students can now gain proficiency in effectively articulating them.
Moreover, we serve in a leadership role to disciplines outside psychological science that seek expertise about issues in career development. Academic programs and disciplines are expressing interest in learning how to incorporate these workforce skills into their curricula. I have been delighted to receive invitations to give presentations at regional conferences and workshops for disciplines and academic programs outside psychology. At a regional Strong Workforce Program conference, attention centered on tracking industry engagement, student employment, work experience, work-based learning and career preparation. A major objective was to highlight skills students acquire through coursework. The concurrence was remarkable. Faculty from fashion, real estate, business, English, nutrition, accounting and computer information science recognized the value of the resources and knowledge that our discipline generated and expressed interest in learning more about how psychological science incorporates these skills into curricula. Importantly, derivation of the information and the caliber of the standards we hold as a science play a critical role in why our materials and recommendations are highly valued.
Our resources have also gained attention from programs going through restructuring. The program director from our college’s Health Information Management program sought recommendations to help guide their program content to provide 21st century skill sets for their baccalaureate cohorts. An out-of-state college sought resources from the Task Force for guidelines and suggestions to develop a new A.A. psychology degree that is workforce focused. These are significant acknowledgments of our discipline from our contemporaries. Outreach enables our discipline to extend the range of our contributions and promote a greater understanding of what psychological science offers to the community.
Reposted with permission from the American Psychological Association’s Psychology Teacher Network
References
Appleby, D., Young, J., Van Kirk, J., Rudmann, J., Naufel, K.Z., Spencer, S.M., Hettich, P., Richmond, A.S. (2019). The skillful psychology student: Skills you will need to succeed in the 21st-century workplace. Psychology Student Network, 7(1). Retrieved from https://www.apa.org/ed/precollege/psn/2019/02/skillful-student
National Association of Colleges and Employers. (2019). The Four Career Competencies Employers Value Most. Retrieved from https://www.naceweb.org/career-readiness/competencies/the-four-career-competencies-employers-value-most/
National Association of Colleges and Employers. (2018). Job Outlook 2019. Retrieved from https://www.odu.edu/content/dam/odu/offices/cmc/docs/nace/2019-nace-job-outlook-survey.pdf (PDF, 475KB)
National Association of Colleges and Employers. (2018). Employers Want to See These Attributes on Student’s Resumes. Retrieved from https://www.naceweb.org/talent-acquisition/candidate-selection/employers-want-to-see-these-attributes-on-students-resumes/
Naufel, K.Z., Spencer, S.M., Appleby, D., Richmond, A.S., Rudmann, J., Van Kirk, J., Young, J., Carducci, B., Hettich., P. (2019). The skillful psychology student: How to empower students with workforce-ready skills by teaching psychology. Psychology Teacher Network, 29(1). Retrieved from https://www.apa.org/ed/precollege/ ptn/2019/03/workforce-ready-skills
Peterson, J., Wardwell, C., Will, K., & Campana, K. (2014). Pursuing a Purpose: The Role of Career Exploration Courses and Service-Learning Internships in Recognizing and Developing Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. Teaching of Psychology, 41(4), 354-359.
World Economic Forum. (2015). How Technology Will Change the Way We Work. Retrieved from https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2015/08/how-technology-will-change-the-way-we-work/
