What Students Want, What Employers Seek, and the Implications for Post-Secondary

What drives the education and career decisions of today’s students? What are the immediate and future needs of the employers who will hire them?

This session will begin with a look at the most recent insights into Canadian students’ education preferences, career aspirations, and employment decision-making processes.

Next, we’ll flip to the other side of the equation and look at the most recent information regarding the needs of Canada’s employers when it comes to recruiting students. We’ll explore the key challenges employers are facing to meet their talent needs; discuss the skills they are seeking; review the most recent hiring trends; and gain an understanding of what drives their decisions when choosing the schools from which they hire.

With a deeper and more current understanding of students’ interests and employers’ needs, the final portion of this workshop will be an interactive discussion of the implications for post-secondary education. Participants will discuss how PSIs are and can respond to students’ greatest interests, particularly with regard to career opportunities and outcomes.