Business and Financial Literacy

These hiring managers think that budgeting and understanding of borrowing, credit, and debt are the most valuable skills for entry-level workers to have.

Among those that find financial literacy skills valuable, taxes, net income, and budgeting (42%); saving and investing (41%); and borrowing, credit, and debt (39%); are seen as the most valuable knowledge for entry-level employees to have. 

Second-tier skills are personal saving (28%) and managing personal risk (26%). During in-depth interviews, hiring managers spoke about the importance of these skills.

When asked about what should be taught in high schools, nearly all agree that there should be more courses teaching soft skills such as communication, collaboration, and critical thinking (97%) and that there should be more business courses (92%).

A majority of these hiring managers think that entry-level workers should acquire a wide range of business skills before entering the work force. Most say it is important that their employees learn the following topics¹ prior to entering the workforce:

• Business basics, competition, and new ideas (91%)
• Management and strategy (89%)
• Personal goals, budgeting, and investing (89%)
• Personal saving and borrowing (85%)
• Business finance and accounting (81%)
• Marketing (73%).

About half (49%) report seeing, hearing, or reading anything about the AP Business with Personal Finance course that will be taught in high schools starting in 2026. Nine in ten (90%) believe that the course will have a positive impact on preparing high schoolers to enter the workforce, including 44% who say it will have a significantly positive impact. During the in-depth interviews, respondents indicated that they believe the course would be beneficial due to its practicality and real-world application. They stated the importance specifically of business skills and how important it would be for an entry-level employee to understand how a business works prior to entering the workforce.

Among these hiring managers, at least nine in ten agree that they are encouraged business courses are in development for high schoolers (94%), that the business course being developed will make a difference in future hiring (91%), and that an AP-level high school business curriculum would be helpful in hiring and assessing candidates (89%).

When asked how much of a role high school courses play in their company’s hiring process, seven in ten say that they play at least some role. However, these hiring managers are much more likely to say that these courses play a minor role (51%) than a major role (19%).

By sector, those in manufacturing (80%) are more likely than those in services (68%) and professional services (67%) to say that high school courses play a role in the hiring process.

While most of these hiring managers say that high school courses don’t play a major role in hiring, two in three (67%) say they find high school AP courses and exams valuable in their hiring decisions. 

Lastly, 77% also say that they would find AP courses more valuable if students who passed AP exams earned credentials demonstrating mastery of skills relevant to their hiring needs.