Liberal arts is the future of work, so why is Canada pushing 'job-ready' skills?

By David Helfand. Last month, I sat in a meeting, organized by the Conference Board of Canada, in which academic leaders listened to what people who hire university graduates often find missing in the candidates they interview. From IBM to city managers, and from pipeline companies to NGOs, the refrain was the same: They wanted (and were not finding) people who can communicate effectively and persuasively, people who can collaborate across departments to solve problems, people with emotional intelligence who can transcend age and cultural differences and who possess the resilience to embrace failure as a learning experience. More...