A report on employment for new college grads shared here last week said employers would be looking to hire 11% more workers this year.  Great news, but the operative word is “looking”.  They will be looking and looking to find kids who are actually ready for work!

According to a survey released today by PayScale, which provides data on salaries, and executive development firm Future Workplace, nearly 90 percent of all recent college graduates considered themselves well prepared for their jobs. Unfortunately only half of those doing the hiring agree!

So what’s the problem?  60 percent of all companies said new grads lacked critical thinking skills, 56 percent lack attention to detail while 44 percent found fault with today’s grads writing proficiency, and 39 percent were critical of their public speaking ability.  Makes you wonder just what the grads think they know and what they think employers are looking for!

The data from the report was collected over the past two years by PayScale from about 76,000 participants. It echoes a 2015 report by ETS, which administers the SAT, that found declining literacy and math skills among U.S. workers.

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