“Career readiness” can sometimes feel like a shift away from deep academic learning. But at a recent employer panel hosted by Career Services, industry partners made something clear: the skills they value most are already being developed in the classroom.
The challenge isn’t whether students are learning the right things. It’s whether they can recognize and communicate their value.
At the Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning’s annual Summer Institute, Career Services organized a panel of employer guests as part of their Classroom to Careers learning track for faculty members across UCF. Panelists included:
- Aidilyn Fuentes with the Florida Department of Health, Seminole County
- Savone K. James with The Walt Disney Company
- Christina Ortiz with Orlando Health
- Tyler Sera with Brooksource
- David Sprinkle with Veritas Recruiting Group, LLC.
Panelists were asked about skill-based hiring and career readiness of college graduates to help faculty see where they could support student professional development in the classroom.
It’s Bigger Than Job Training
Employers drew a helpful distinction:
- Job training is about doing specific tasks
- Career readiness is about how you think, communicate, and solve problems
In other words, employers aren’t just hiring for what students know—they’re hiring for how students approach their work. Can they ask good questions? Understand the bigger picture? Adapt when things change?
Those abilities are often built through coursework, not separate from it.
“One thing that [students] struggle with is the fact that they are new in that field. They don’t want to ask questions. They don’t want to ask how to properly do something. And they have to understand that we know that we hired a recent grad. We saw your resume. We know that you didn’t do it already in real life. And it’s okay. We’re here to help you grow.”
Christina Ortiz, Orlando Health
What Employers See in Academic Work
Panelists pointed to everyday classroom experiences as powerful skill-builders:
- Research and analysis → problem-solving and critical thinking
- Writing assignments → communication and professionalism
- Group projects → teamwork, leadership, and conflict navigation
- Learning new tools → adaptability and curiosity
Even something students may dislike—like group work—mirrors real workplace dynamics. Learning to collaborate (especially with difficult teammates) is one of the most transferable skills students gain.
“Career readiness also involves not only what they learn in the classroom, but how they apply it.
including soft skills, which is definitely important.”Aidilyn Fuentes, Florida Department of Health, Seminole County
Where Students Get Stuck
If students are developing these skills, why do employers still see gaps?
The answer came up again and again: students struggle to explain what they can do.
Instead of sharing outcomes, they list tasks. Instead of showing impact, they describe assignments. Employers noted that writing is often the first impression, starting with the resume. Clear, professional communication remains a differentiator.
Employers want to hear:
- What problem were you solving?
- What did you actually do?
- What changed as a result?
- What did you learn?
When students can tell that story clearly, they stand out.
“You have to be able to advocate for yourself, because what makes your skills different from the person who’s right next to you? … Being able to advocate, network, and be in touch with your inner self are the things that they struggle to communicate to us. But the ones who do communicate these to us, they get what they’re looking for.”
Savone K. James, The Walt Disney Company
The Skills That Make the Difference
Beyond technical knowledge, a few human skills came up repeatedly:
- Communication (especially storytelling)
- Curiosity and willingness to ask questions
- Resilience and openness to feedback
- Self-advocacy (asking for help, seeking opportunities)
- Understanding their value—not just what they want from a job, but what they bring to it
“Know the value that you bring, whether that’s work ethic, communication, you create research, whatever the case might be. Be able to know that [value] and then effectively communicate it.”
Tyler Sera, Brooksource
What Faculty Can Do
The panel reinforced that faculty don’t need to change what they teach—just make its impact more visible.
A few small shifts can go a long way:
- Name the skills students are practicing (“This builds your ability to analyze complex problems.”)
- Build in reflection, so students can articulate what they’ve learned
- Share simple frameworks (like problem → action → result) to help them communicate clearly
- Bring employers into the classroom to connect learning with real-world applications
These small moments help students connect the dots between their coursework and their future.
“When I was going to school, I never had a teacher or professor explain to me, ‘What you’re doing right now might seem like you’re never going to use this again, but when you get a job, this is the skill set that you’re developing that is going to be valuable to a future employer. So put that in the back of your mind as you complete this project.‘ If I had had some of those conversations, I would have been much better prepared graduating and interviewing and then getting in my first job coming out of school. So, that’s career readiness in my book.”
David Sprinkle, Veritas Recruiting Group, LLC.
The Takeaway
Career readiness isn’t separate from academic learning—it’s already embedded within it. When students learn how to see and explain the value of what they’ve done in their coursework and curricular experiences, they leave not just with subject knowledge and skills, but with the confidence to apply those skills to their future careers.
