Survey Highlights

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Hiring managers emphasize the importance of soft skills like critical thinking and communication, value financial literacy, and highlight internships, trade schools, and AP business courses as key pathways for developing early-career skills.

They view graduates from trade schools, technical colleges, and four-year institutions with industry-recognized credentials as well-prepared for the workforce, while high school graduates are seen as less ready.

New grads from technical and 4-year colleges are viewed as prepared.Nearly all of these hiring managers view trade school/technical college graduates (90%) and 4-year college graduates (89%) with industry-recognized credentials as prepared to enter the workforce.
Solid soft skills prompt hiring.Among the surveyed hiring managers, at least nine in ten say that they are more likely to hire an entry-level employee that demonstrates critical thinking/problem solving (94%) or effective communication skills (90%).
High school grads viewed as less ready for work.Four in five (84%) surveyed hiring managers agree that most high school students are not prepared to enter the workforce. They also say that current high school grads are less prepared compared to previous generations (80%).
Few say it’s easy to find the right, experienced candidates.Only two in five surveyed hiring managers say it’s easy to find candidates with the skills (38%) or experience (37%) they need.
Internships, trade schools key to developing skills.These hiring managers say that internships (46%) are the leading way for students to gain early-career skills. They also cite trade schools (40%) and 4-year colleges (37%) as leading ways to acquire these skills.
Almost all say a high school-level AP course on business could be beneficial.Nine in ten (90%) believe that an AP course on business would have a positive impact on preparing high schoolers to enter the workforce and 44% say it will have a significant positive impact.
Financial literacy is a sought-after skill.Nearly all (96%) of these hiring managers say that financial literacy skills are valuable for employees who are just starting their career, including 61% who find them very valuable.

Insights from Hiring Managers on Entry Level Preparedness

The 2025 New Hire Readiness Report reveals that the majority of hiring managers feel that high school graduates are not prepared to enter the workforce.

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September 17, 2025