Is the Skills Gap Actually a Communication Gap?
At a recent fireside chat featuring WGU School of Business leaders and T-Mobile executives, Anne Clancy challenged the widely accepted idea of a skills gap.
Clancy, national executive of higher education strategy at T-Mobile, said, “There’s a lot of talk about the skills gap right now, and I’m a big believer that there’s really not a skills gap. I’m a believer that we have many students and graduates that have the skills — they’re just not matching the same language that we’re looking for.”
She continued, “How do we match what student output really is versus what employers are looking for in the right kinds of language, in the right context? Because I guarantee you that there’s not a gap. We have a language gap. We have an understanding gap. I think WGU does a good job of trying to close that, but we still have some work to do.”
Bridging the Gap Between Students and Employers
By using a competency-based education model from day one, WGU has consistently focused on teaching real-world skills that align with workforce needs. Innovations like the WGU Skills Library and WGU Achievement Wallet are additional tools that can help bridge the communication gap between employers and students.
A deeper look at the following three areas demonstrates the university’s commitment to closing the communication gap between employers and job seekers.
- Meeting employer needs through workforce-aligned curriculum
- Creating skills libraries for an agreed-upon labor market currency
- Offering the WGU Achievement Wallet, a Learning and Employment Record (LER) to help degree earners better communicate with employers
Meeting Employer Needs Through Workforce-Aligned Curriculum
WGU was created nearly 30 years ago to address specific workforce needs, and that focus remains true to this day. It’s why the university offers degrees in the in-demand fields of business, technology, health care and education. Every degree offered has been selected to connect graduates to jobs that provide legitimate economic and societal value to both employees and employers.
How does that look in practice? It starts by having a clear understanding of the skills and competencies employers require and then incorporating specific training into program curriculum.
For example, Chris Lee, president of WGU Academy, notes that WGU’s Front End Web Development certificate program, in partnership with CodeSignal, trains students for the assessment used by major tech employers to screen job applicants. He also points out that WGU partners with several large employers to provide tailored education solutions that help address specific workforce needs.
"Employer validation is increasingly the key metric used by prospective students to choose educational programs,” said Lee. “Aligning educational programs with the knowledge, skills, behaviors, and mindsets expected by employers is paramount."
Another example is a recent collaboration between DaVita and WGU. Amid the nursing shortage, DaVita sought a way to train more nephrology nurses, specialists trained in kidney care. Davita and WGU built a “new course in nephrology available in the Registered Nurse-Bachelor of Science in Nursing (RN-BSN) and the bridge RN-Master of Science in Nursing (bridge RN-MSN) programs at WGU’s Michael O. Leavitt School of Health (LSH). The nephrology curriculum contains seven modules and provides students with the necessary tools, information and practical experience to enter the nephrology nursing field specialty with a strong foundation in kidney care.”
Creating Skills Libraries for an Agreed-Upon Labor Market Language Currency
For students and employers to connect effectively, they must use the same language to describe skills. Too often, employers list skills one way while education documents list them another. Students are left to interpret and translate on their own.
The WGU Skills Library addresses this challenge by providing a shared, structured skills framework that both education and industry can reference. The library includes more than 15,500 detailed skill descriptors aligned to real roles and labor market demand.
This shared framework helps employers more clearly define the skills they seek when creating job postings. It also helps students understand which skills matter for the roles they want and how their learning aligns with those expectations.
When students can see the specific skills tied to jobs, they can make more informed choices about programs and credentials. When employers can reference a consistent skills language, they gain clearer insight into candidate readiness.
Offering the Achievement Wallet, a Learning and Employment Record (LER) to Help Degree Earners Better Communicate with Employers
The WGU Achievement Wallet is a Learning and Employment Record (LER) built on the Skills Library. Its purpose is to help learners clearly communicate what they know and can do using language employers understand.
As students progress through their programs, the wallet documents and verifies the skills they have mastered. It shows how those skills align to real-world roles, and highlights gaps that may limit access to certain opportunities.
A skills wallet gives learners a clearer picture of where they stand and what steps to take next. Instead of relying on a degree title alone, they can explain their capabilities with specific, verified skill evidence.
Employers benefit as well. The wallet provides clearer signals of candidate ability and reduces reliance on résumés as indirect proxies for skill. It supports skills-based hiring, especially as AI-driven screening tools increasingly prioritize structured skills data.
More than 70,000 WGU students, graduates, and staff already use the Achievement Wallet. Designed to be learner-centered, it supports career planning from the start of the academic journey and continues to add value as careers evolve.
“Beyond the documentation of skills, the wallet acts as a career guide,” said WGU Chief Academic Officer and Provost Courtney Hills McBeth.“Users can see how their skills align with real-world roles, uncover gaps that may stand in the way of opportunities and explore pathways to close those gaps. For many users, this means transforming uncertainty into a clearer view of where they stand today and what steps will take them to their dream job tomorrow.”
Together, the Skills Library and Achievement Wallet help close the communication gap between education and employment by making skills visible, portable, and understandable to all parties.
A Needed Hiring Shift
For these solutions to be most effective, awareness and support are required. WGU President Scott Pulsipher testified before the U.S. House Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development on Dec. 10, urging lawmakers to support Learning and Employment Records (LERs) that track and verify skills throughout a person’s life.
“Talent exists everywhere,” Pulsipher told lawmakers. “But the systems meant to connect people with opportunity — education, credentialing, and employment — are misaligned and hard to navigate.”
In addition to an understanding of LERs, he emphasized the growing need for employers to lean more into skills-based hiring, particularly as artificial intelligence transforms how employers screen candidates. He said LERs could help employers cut through résumé noise by providing clearer evidence of a candidate’s capabilities, leading to broader and more equitable hiring.
Next Steps for Employers and Students
Recent research from WGU suggests that skills are becoming the new hiring currency. Efforts like creating robust skills libraries and LERs allow job seekers to better package and communicate the “skills currency” they bring to the table, helping job seekers and employers align and do business together.
However, if the goal is to create an equitable and mutually beneficial system for both employers and job seekers, greater awareness and adoption of these types of solutions, including a focus on skills-based hiring, is required as part of a broader participation in a future that benefits everyone.
As Pulsipher said at the recent Human Potential Summit, “Building that future will require all of us to design jobs that empower growth, cultivate purpose, and strengthen connection.”
Take Action
For employers interested in learning how their organization can train a workforce equipped to thrive in specific roles, connect here.
For students looking to prepare for a specific job, check out WGU’s career guides that show which degrees align with certain jobs. Also, ask your program mentor about the WGU Achievement Wallet.
