Student loan debt is on the rise, and unfortunately, the high cost of tuition does not guarantee that graduates will find well-paying and meaningful jobs after earning a degree.
“Our education and workforce development systems are broken right now, and as a result, the country is facing a crisis,” says Mark C. Perna, workforce development consultant, educational strategist, and author of the new book, “Answering Why: Unleashing Passion, Purpose, and Performance in Younger Generations.”
“Millions of jobs in crucial sectors for our economy and society are open, and we have no one with the right skills – or even the desire – to fill them,” he says.
In “Answering Why” (www.markcperna.com/book), Perna outlines a roadmap to better prepare young people for future opportunities while closing the skills gap that currently afflicts the economy.
Here he offers some of his key insights and recommendations:
• Biases and misconceptions about younger generations continue to persist, and there is an intergenerational struggle to connect effectively. Perna refers to Generations Y and Z collectively as the “Generation Why,” because its members want to understand the “why” behind everything they are asked to do. We need to know and understand their characteristics and skills if we expect them to perform beyond expectations.
• Non-college career paths have become stigmatized in this country. Experts like Perna believe that teachers and parents need to move away from the belief that everyone must attend a four-year university to be successful and productive citizens. Rewarding, high-demand, and well-paying careers can be achieved through post-secondary training pathways beyond the traditional college route.
• We must prioritize exploration and education in career development as part of the K–12 system, emphasizes Perna. Even many teachers, counselors, and 
school administrators are themselves misinformed about the robust opportunities available for today’s youth and tend to undervalue career exploration in favor of sending everyone down a single path – college.
• Generation Why needs to better understand the relationship between self-motivation and external motivation regarding achieving goals, and parents and teachers can help. To succeed today, young people must develop the ‘want’ that fosters passion, achievement, and positive self-esteem.
“As young people prepare to enter the workforce, we need to train them to do three things: focus, plan, and act,” says Perna. “This generation is tenacious and talented, but they need to be motivated to reach their peak performance. They can do it, but we have to help.” Source: StatePoint