The New England Journal of Higher Education recently invited JFF CEO Maria Flynn to contribute a column to an ongoing series of essays by economists and other experts about the way the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting 2020 college graduates as they enter the job market.
In her column, which was published August 3, Flynn argued that, among the many devastating blows the pandemic has dealt the economy and the job market, the COVID-19 crisis has made it clear that the U.S. higher education career services infrastructure is "ill-suited to helping students navigate this moment" and is long overdue for an overhaul.
“Our country and its higher education system lack a comprehensive career navigation system that can help students, parents and workers make well-informed choices about their education and career paths,” she wrote.
“We can no longer view learning, employment and career training as linear,” she added. “Instead, we should view them as part of a cyclical process that will require education providers to help workers weave in and out of learning, often with support from an employer.”
