This is the story of a 22-year-old young man who graduated from university with a bachelor’s degree, and he thought the degree could earn him a job that pays enough money for him to rent his own place, but
it didn’t.
This is also the story of Vilma, a Cuban immigrant with an elderly mother who worked hard to graduate from her local community college and achieve the American dream, but she now works at a fish market and is beginning to think that it doesn’t exist.
This is the story of thousands of college graduates today that are walking around with degrees that don’t actualize anything in their lives.
According to a 2023 Business.com article, this year only 5% of all applications submitted for jobs by recent college graduates were met with interest from employers.
According to the same article, of that 5% of applications that received interest, only 2% of online applications resulted in interviews. This staggering statistic shows that many of the applications submitted by college graduates for jobs were left unanswered by the employers, leaving college graduates struggling to get good jobs that live up to the degree they hold.
Pierce College can help offset these numbers by starting a mentorship program. Students could have access to individuals on campus who can offer them help and guidance, which can give college graduates their best shot at attaining good, sustainable jobs.
According to a 2014 article in The Atlantic, studies show that 12.4% of Black college graduates were unemployed while “for all college graduates, the unemployment rate stood at just 5.6%.
In the same article, “all Hispanic college graduates faced a 5 percent unemployment rate, more than whites but less than African-Americans.”
Pierce College has a student demographic consisting of 48.5% Hispanic students and 4.55% of Black students.
Pierce College has the opportunity to assist its large Black and Brown student population, who, unfortunately, are disproportionately affected by un/underemployment.
Through creating a mentorship program, students could have the ability to sit with qualified individuals, be it staff, alumni, or even transfer students, on a monthly basis.
Topics would include what jobs to seek, how to seek them, and the steps necessary to take. This not only helps guide soon-to-be college graduates, but it also prevents them from wasting years of their life with no direction by giving them access to people who can help them formulate a plan.
Pierce can play a part in helping offset this striking problem affecting more college graduates than you know.
