Bentley University played a key role in the New England Board of Higher Education summit, “Employability: A National Imperative”, at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. The event highlighted Bentley’s leading role in connecting universities and employers to better prepare the workforce of the future and featured three Bentley participants - President Gloria Larson, Associate Vice President of Career Services Susan Brennan and student Alexandria Steinmann ‘18 - more than any other university.

Last month, Bentley partnered with The Chronicle of Higher Education to host another event, “The Future of Work: The Path from College to Career”, that drew more than one hundred employers, university officials, faculty and students to Bentley’s campus in Waltham, Mass.

“Now more than ever, we need to connect higher education and the world of work,” said President Larson, author of PreparedU: How Innovative Colleges Drive Students Success. “Graduates today are heading into an innovation economy where they will land jobs that don’t even exist yet and where the impact of automation is forever changing the landscape. It’s crucial that we forge strong partnerships between the world of higher education and employers in the marketplace.”

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Just 44 percent of college seniors feel “very prepared” for their careers, according to a recent study by McGraw Hill Education. Employers agree, with many saying new graduates don’t have the skills they require.

At the New England Board of Higher Education event, President Larsondiscussed the demands of today’s employers, the expectations of students and their families of a return on their college investment, and how universities can innovate to meet today’s demands.

Brennan, who leads Bentley’s nationally recognized career services team, is a member of the New England Board of Higher Education’s Commission on Higher Education and Employability, which helps colleges update their career advising to better align with the marketplace. Brennan presented the commission’s recommendations on how to achieve that.

Steinmann, a senior at Bentley, was the only student panelist at the summit. Steinmann is a career services director at Bentley who oversees a team of Career Colleagues – juniors and seniors who are trained to advise first-year students and sophomores at Bentley on career skills such as interviewing, networking, cover letters and resumes.

Read more about Steinmann’s experience advising other Bentley students in this Huffington Post article.

At the Chronicle of Higher Education “Future of Work” event at Bentley last month, employers and educators met to debate what jobs will look like in the future and how they could partner to make sure graduates are ready for the changing market.

Read more about the takeaways and comments from the “Future of Work” event at Bentley.