UW–Madison’s Mindi Thompson, the Charles and Carol Pulvino Chair in the School of Education’s Department of Counseling Psychology, was recently featured on Wisconsin Public Radio.
The “Wisconsin Today” episode, headlined “College, career transition experts say some skills for success are timeless,” explores Wisconsin’s new “Portrait of a Graduate” initiative. Led by the Department of Public Instruction, the initiative aims to define key skills and experiences students need to succeed after high school.
Thompson, who also directs the Center for Research on College-Workforce Transitions at UW–Madison, noted that much of her team’s research on college graduate job seekers is also relevant for high school students.
“We’ve known for a while that something that is commonly referred to as soft skills or transferable skills are important for students to be successful and to enter into the workforce,” Thompson said. “These are things like the ability to communicate well, teamwork, how to cope with uncertainty, and how to problem solve.”
Coping with uncertainty — which increased during the COVID-19 pandemic and has continued with disruptions caused by artificial intelligence (AI) — has been a particular focus for Thompson and her team, the article notes.
“They’re feeling this added pressure,” Thompson said. “How do we still focus on teaching students those very specific skills that they would need to enter a particular job, knowing that those jobs are highly likely to shift and change over time?”
Read the full report to learn more.