Bridging the Career Readiness Gap: A First-Generation Lens on Workplace Success

We're living through a profound shift in how young people enter and experience work, but we're using an outdated playbook to manage it. The numbers tell a striking story: 60% of hiring managers say recent graduates aren't ready for the workplace, while first-generation students - many facing unique systemic barriers - now make up a majority of college enrollment for the first time in American history, 54% today vs 18% in 2011. This isn't just a skills gap - it's a fundamental mismatch between how we prepare young people for work and what modern work actually requires.

Drawing on extensive research and real-world cases, this session explores how the intersection of Gen Z characteristics, first-generation status, and rapidly evolving workplace demands has created a perfect storm that's costing U.S. companies an estimated $570 billion. But there's hope: new models and solutions of early career development are emerging that could transform how we bridge this divide.