NYSE: Cengage CEO Reveals Biggest Gap Between Education and Work

Michael E. Hansen, CEO at Cengage

 

The Growing Gap Between Education and Employment

In recent years, the education system has become increasingly disconnected from the workplace, leaving new graduates with reduced expectations for entry-level jobs. Cengage’s 2025 Employability Report found that nearly half of new graduates feel unprepared for entry-level roles. 

Over 56% of unprepared graduates cite job-specific skills as the biggest gap between education & employment, falling into two categories: job-necessary technical skills and problem-solving soft skills. Employers are also calling out that these are not being taught enough in colleges and K-12 schools. Despite this, over 90% of educators think they are doing a great job preparing their students for the workplace.

 

Using AI to Enhance, Not Replace, Education

Cengage delivers high-impact learning experiences at scale across higher education, workforce skills, K-12 and English language learning, reinforced by more than a century of trusted content. As of 2026, Cengage reaches close to 70% of all U.S. higher education institutions and K-12 school districts, supporting nearly 16 million digital users annually in more than 100 countries.

As education shifts in the age of AI, Cengage has remained at the forefront of digital learning. Rather than seeing AI as a replacement for education, the approach is to design AI to enhance teaching and learning. This past year, Cengage launched the Student Assistant, a GenAI tool that provides personalized access and learning feedback, enabling students to connect with key concepts in ways that are beneficial to them. The result: 86% instructor opt-in with tens of thousands of students experiencing 4-5x higher engagement, alongside 20% improvement in end-of-course grades shown in our beta testing.

As AI becomes more ingrained in education, the next step is scaling personalized learning to make education a pathway to opportunity. As part of a commitment to AI in education, Cengage continues to develop and expand AI products across K-12 and higher education.

 

Meeting Workforce Demands for Career-Ready Skills

The workforce skills market is one of the fastest-growing segments, and Cengage remains at the forefront of meeting global demand for upskilling, reskilling, and job-ready education. Our Cengage Work segment delivers career-aligned training and credentials that help students, adult learners, and workers gain the skills needed to stay competitive in an AI-accelerated economy. These platforms have delivered proven upward economic mobility, with average wage increases of more than 11% within 12 months.

Cengage also plays a unique role in addressing changing macroeconomic forces, including growing labor shortages, skills gaps and employer demands for alternative credentials. The WEF predicts that more than half of workers will require reskilling by 2030, and that an additional 39% of jobs will be disrupted. Cengage’s programs directly serve these needs, providing high-quality, flexible, affordable options that improve academic performance, career mobility, and lifelong opportunities.

 

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