SPANNING THE WORKFORCE SKILLS COMMUNICATION GAP - A PLAYBOOK FOR EDUCATORS, EMPLOYERS, AND STUDENTS

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Sarah

A qualitative, yearlong research partnership between the Online Learning Consortium (OLC) and HP Inc. explores how higher-education institutions link learning outcomes to workforce skills and help students communicate those proficiencies to employers. Drawing on perspectives from academic leaders, program directors, and faculty across U.S. two-year and four-year institutions, the playbook identifies workforce skills communication gaps, collaboration approaches, and methods for measuring soft and hard skill outcomes, while addressing student needs and professional narrative development to inform future work pathways.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages21

Reading Time53 min

AccessFree to download

Contributing Authors

About Our Organizations

Executive Summary

About This Playbook

Introduction

Research Findings & Strategies

1. Workforce Skills Communication Gaps

2. Institution-Employer Collaboration

3. Measurement of Soft and Hard Skill Learning Outcomes

4. Understanding Student Needs

5. Student Professional Narrative

Conclusion

References

SPANNING THE WORKFORCE SKILLS COMMUNICATION GAP A PLAYBOOK FOR EDUCATORS, EMPLOYERS, AND STUDENTS CONTRIBUTING AUTHORS (Listed Alphabetically) Michele (Shelly) Bartosek, Ph.D. Instructor, Lecturer II, Central Michigan University Cristi Ford, Ph.D. Vice President, Academic Affairs, D2L Kristen Gay, Ph.D. Director of Research, Online Learning Consortium Abby McGuire, Ed.D. MSA Faculty, Central Michigan University Andrew Swindell, Ph.D. Educational Researcher, Online Learning Consortium Minzi A. Thomas, Ed.D. Strategic Professional Development & Enrollment Management Director, Meharry Medical College Nicole Weber, Ph.D. Assistant Professor, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Recommended citation: Bartosek, M., Ford, C., Gay, K., McGuire, A., Swindell, A., Thomas, M., Weber, N.(2023) . Spanning the workforce skills communication gap: A playbook for educators, employers, and students. The Online Learning Consortium. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons, Creative Commons—AttributionNonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International—CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 TABLE OF CONTENTS Contributing Authors 2 About Our Organizations 4 Executive Summary 5 About This Playbook 6 Introduction 7 Research Findings & Strategies 8 1. Workforce Skills Communication Gaps 9 2. Institution-Employer Collaboration 10 3. Measurement of Soft and Hard Skill Learning Outcomes 12 4. Understanding Student Needs 14 5. Student Professional Narrative 15 Conclusion 18 References 19 3 ABOUT OUR ORGANIZATIONS The Online Learning Consortium (OLC) is a collaborative community of education leaders and innovators dedicated to advancing quality digital teaching and learning experiences designed to reach and engage the modern learner—anyone, anywhere, anytime. OLC inspires innovation and quality through an extensive set of resources, including best-practice publications, quality benchmarking, leading-edge instruction, communitydriven conferences, practitioner-based and empirical research, and expert guidance. The growing OLC community includes faculty members, administrators, trainers, instructional designers, and other learning professionals, as well as educational institutions, professional societies, and corporate enterprises. Learn more at [onlinelearningconsortium.org](onlinelearningconsortium.org). HP Inc. creates technology that makes life better for everyone, everywhere—every person, every organization, and every community around the globe. For higher education, HP combines instructional innovation, applied research, data science, extended realities, 3D additive manufacturing, esports, and advanced cybersecurity to empower the Campus of the Future. Learn more at [http://www](http://www). [hp.com/education](hp.com/education). 4 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The core element binding the synergistic relationship between HP and the OLC is a commitment to examining how institutions of higher education are meeting the needs of their students. This yearlong qualitative research project examined the perspectives, experiences, and expertise of academic leaders, program directors, and faculty in tying learning outcomes to workforce skills at a variety of public and private two-year and fouryear institutions across the United States. This research centered on students’ workforce skills development, which is particularly important at this critical juncture in time as workforce needs and student aspirations have rapidly shifted due to the global pandemic. Through the deep examination of these academic leaders, program directors, and faculty perspectives, the findings of this exploratory study can catalyze further investigation into the focus on workforce skills development. By capturing innovative strategies for teaching workforce skills and training students to communicate their workplace skill proficiencies, this study provides new perspectives for institutions working to foster student success by integrating w

FAQs

What is the central focus of the OLC and HP Inc. study behind this playbook?

It examines how higher-education institutions are meeting students’ workforce skills needs by aligning learning outcomes with workforce skills and enabling students to communicate their proficiencies to employers.

Why is student communication of workforce skills considered critical?

If students cannot articulate their strengths in language aligned with employer expectations, a perceived skills gap will persist even when skills are being developed.

What types of strategies does the playbook provide for teaching workforce skills?

It offers actionable approaches to address workforce skills communication gaps, strengthen institution-employer collaboration, support measurement of soft and hard skill outcomes, and develop student professional narratives.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Sarah