1. Empathy Map
Say
 “Students coming into the workforce are intelligent and “book-smart”.”
 “However, they aren’t necessarily ‘workforce smart.’”
 “Some of the lacking skills include writing skills (especially writing appropriate emails), presentations, participating in group
dynamics.”
 “I believe students also feel overwhelmed when entering the workforce, and sometimes simple tasks seem daunting, simply as
they’ve never experienced them before.”
 “The students I see don’t have real workplace experience.”
 “Students can benefit from mentorship programs, job shadowing and/or co-op opportunities.”
 “The students I see some lack practical skills.”
 “For the most part, students know how to work well in teams, and are very good at taking initiative – even better than some
seasoned professionals!”
 “New employees/students don’t feel comfortable or confident in the workforce – it takes quite a while to adjust.”
Do
 * I didn’t have the opportunity to observe an interaction between the employer and students*
Think
 A busy professional, this employer would rather allocate their time teaching the students about the actual work and tasks, than
basic skills.
 Students have lots of great knowledge based skills, sometimes surpassing some of those our stakeholders own colleagues
have – but they lack the practical application of these skills.
Feel
 Students, who have the opportunity to have work-integrated learning experiences, transition better into the workplace – and
will benefit both employers and students.
 Students feel overwhelmed making the transition to the workforce and are not prepared for how to handle it.
 Students/new employees don’t have the necessary resources to aid them with the transition to the workforce.
Stakeholder
An educated public service manager in Canada, who works in developing and regulating programs related to transportation and the
environment, with a Master’s Degree, who regularly hires and employs university students, both on a co-op basis and post-graduation.
Problem Statement
Employers need a way to communicate their perspectives & suggestions to educators because both students & employers would
benefit from students being better prepared for integration into the workforce.
Insight
Throughout this interview, the comments made by the employer really spoke to a high respect of students’ intelligence and knowledge,
but an there was hope that students would be better prepared with some practical experience to aid the transition into the workforce. I
felt that a missing link here could be associated to educators spending so much time on ensuring the students are this knowledgeable,
but there is a lack of professional development involved in their education. Perhaps with better communication between educators and
employers, they can win on all fronts (education + experience), to ensure students & employers feel they are better prepared for the
workforce.