When we start out in our career we’re often placed in the perverse situation of expecting to know exactly what we want to do for the next 40/50 years while having no real experience of any career, let alone the multiple careers that might give us a realistic ability to appraise which one suits us best.
New research from the University of Missouri explores how tools could be created to allow young people to better understand their strengths and how these may translate into an engaging career.
The researchers worked with the online aptitude assessment service YouScience to test over 7,000 high school students. They defined a skills gap as one whereby there was a disconnect between the skills employers were looking for and the number of job-seekers possessing those skills.
Strengths and skills
The test was designed to capture the skills and strengths of each person rather than simply their interests. This allowed the researchers to speculate on a much broader range of possible careers.
“When you look at rapidly growing employment sectors like manufacturing, computer technology, health care and construction, there is a pipeline concern, as we need more young people equipped with the skills to enter these fields,” they say. “Not only does the aptitude test help high school students identify potential career paths, but it also helps them identify classes they can take now or in college that will strengthen their skillset and potentially open up doors for their future.”
The authors argue that one way of bridging any skills gaps that exist is to encourage underrepresented groups to follow high-demand careers in areas such as computing, engineering, and maths.
“Due to traditional societal norms and gender stereotypes, young women have historically not been as likely to pursue STEM careers,” they say. “But when we looked at their aptitude scores, the system would often indicate many of the young women surveyed have the aptitude to be successful in these areas. We can also help men consider more nontraditional fields, too, such as nursing or health care, which tend to be predominantly female.”
The researchers believe that these kinds of aptitude tests would better help young people understand the range of careers available to them, and indeed help them overcome any stereotypes that may inhibit their career choices.
“Our overall goal is to help people intentionally identify aptitudes and interests to find their fit with educational pathways and labor market needs so they can be happy and productive members of society,” they conclude. “There are also implications for institutions of higher education, as students who don’t know what they want to major in are more likely to drop out before graduation.”
