Employers often tell us that they have found Gen Y to be less skilled or prepared than other generations. An earlier study by the Conference Board, Partnership for 21st Century Skills, Corporate Voices for Working Families and SHRM, titled “Are They Really Ready to Work?” supports this notion.

So we asked Gen Y the same set of questions posed to the 400+ employers in the original study - which skills do employers value, what skills do you excel at and how well have you been prepared? Our findings revealed:

· Gen Y identified 9 out of the 10 skills employers identified as being the most valuable

· Unlike employers, Gen Y did not feel they were deficient in any of the top 10 skills

· Gen Y believed their undergraduate education prepared them well in the top 10 skills

While both groups are in synch on the set of valued skills, there is a clear disconnect on proficiency and preparedness. In addition, we found 54% of Gen Y is fuzzy about the type of skills they should be acquiring for their desired career paths.

At the same time, Gen Y said if they were made aware of these requirements, 97% of them would take action to get the needed skills either through classes or work experiences.

For tips on communicating skill requirements to Gen Y to build a more prepared workforce, download the whitepaper.