Education as Life Itself: Why Skills and Competencies Matter More Than Ever
In an era defined by rapid technological change, evolving labor markets, and the rise of generative AI, the purpose of education must be reconsidered. The 2024 Graduate Employability Report by Cengage Group reveals a sobering reality: nearly half of recent college graduates are working in jobs that do not require a college degree. For many, the promises of higher education—personal growth, financial stability, and meaningful work—remain unfulfilled.
To move forward, we must look back. John Dewey, one of the most influential educational philosophers of the 20th century, described education not as preparation for life but as “life itself.” His words remain strikingly relevant. Education should be a lived, active process—where learning happens through doing, thinking, and adapting in the real world. Today, that means focusing not just on content knowledge, but on the development of concrete, transferable skills and competencies.
The Employability Gap: A Wake-Up Call
The Graduate Employability Report presents a clear picture of the disconnect between education and employment. While most students attend college to improve their career prospects, 49% of recent graduates report working in jobs that don’t require their degree. Even more troubling, nearly 40% say their education did not adequately prepare them for the workforce.
This is not simply a problem of individual disappointment—it reflects a systemic issue. As employers increasingly seek candidates with problem-solving ability, communication skills, adaptability, and experience with new technologies, colleges and universities are still too often anchored to models of instruction built around content delivery, memorization, and course completion.
A Call for Skills-Based Learning
To address this growing misalignment, the report calls for a shift toward education that prioritizes skill-building and real-world application. Among its most prominent recommendations is the integration of hands-on learning and new technologies—including generative AI (GenAI)—into curricula. This is not a matter of turning every college into a technical school. Rather, it’s a call to enrich academic learning with the kinds of competencies that allow graduates to thrive in uncertain and dynamic environments.
Employers today are not just looking for knowledge—they’re looking for capability. Can a graduate communicate across teams? Solve new problems using unfamiliar tools? Learn independently and adapt to change? These are the hallmarks of employability in the modern age.
Dewey’s Legacy: Learning Through Experience
John Dewey’s educational philosophy offers a powerful lens through which to reimagine today’s classroom. Dewey argued that education should be rooted in the learner’s experience. Instead of treating students as passive recipients of information, he envisioned learning as an active, participatory process—one that mirrors the complexities of real life.
This approach aligns closely with the skills-emphasis outlined in the Cengage report. Dewey’s vision anticipated today’s movement toward project-based learning, collaborative problem-solving, and cross-disciplinary thinking. These methods don’t just help students understand material—they help them do something with it. And that’s what matters most in the eyes of employers, communities, and students themselves.
Stackable Skills for a Lifetime of Learning
In today’s workforce, no one expects a single job to last a lifetime. In fact, most workers will pivot careers five to seven times over the course of their professional lives. Education, therefore, must prepare students not just for a job—but for any job.
This is where the concept of stackable skills becomes critical. These are transferable, cross-industry competencies—like digital literacy, critical thinking, collaboration, and communication—that can be built upon over time. They are portable and adaptable, enabling students to move fluidly between roles, industries, and technologies.
Programs that emphasize these types of skills empower learners to navigate the unpredictable future of work. And unlike degrees that may quickly become outdated, stackable skills grow in value as students apply them in different contexts and continue to build new layers of competency throughout their lives.
GenAI and the New Learning Landscape
The rise of generative AI represents both a challenge and an opportunity for educators. On one hand, AI is reshaping entire industries, demanding new kinds of literacy and ethical understanding. On the other, it opens the door to personalized, interactive, and experiential forms of learning that were not possible even a few years ago.
The Cengage report suggests that incorporating GenAI tools into classrooms can help students develop job-ready skills more effectively. For example, AI can be used to simulate workplace scenarios, generate real-time feedback on writing or design tasks, or support the development of technical competencies in areas like coding, research, or customer service.
Educators who embrace AI as a tool—not a threat—can create learning environments where students build the kinds of analytical, creative, and decision-making skills that will remain relevant, even as job descriptions evolve.
Education as Life Itself—Still True Today
Education is not just a stepping stone to employment. It is a way of becoming. Dewey’s insight that “education is life itself” reminds us that the most powerful learning experiences are those that mirror the challenges, ambiguities, and opportunities of real life. When students are asked to perform, reflect, revise, and collaborate, they are not only developing competencies—they are building identities as capable, curious, and competent human beings.
By shifting our educational focus toward observable, demonstrable skills and competencies, we don’t diminish the role of knowledge—we activate it. Knowledge without application is inert. But knowledge applied through skill becomes transformative.
The Way Forward
Institutions across the country are beginning to embrace this skills-based vision. Competency-based education models, micro-credentials, and industry partnerships are all growing in popularity. Faculty are rethinking how they assess learning, moving beyond tests and papers to include portfolios, projects, and performance-based tasks.
Still, much work remains. Educational systems need to clearly define the skills they expect students to develop, align assessments with those expectations, and track progress in ways that are transparent and meaningful. This doesn’t mean replacing the liberal arts with job training—but rather enriching all forms of education with a stronger emphasis on what students can do as a result of what they’ve learned.
The message of the 2024 Graduate Employability Report is clear: education must evolve to meet the demands of today’s world. If we want students to thrive, we must ensure they leave our classrooms not only knowing more—but able to do more.
