Top 3 Skills for Student Success: Results from the Regional CTE Advisory Meeting
At the September 25, 2025 Regional CTE Advisory meeting, educators, administrators, industry, and community partners participated in a live poll to identify which durable skills from the Oregon Employability Skills curriculum they felt were most critical for today’s workforce. The top three were:
Problem-Solving / Analysis & Solution Mindset
Communication
Adaptability
These results echo what global research is finding. The World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2025 notes that employers expect 39% of workers’ core skills to change by 2030—across almost every industry. This reinforces the insight from our own regional poll: technical competencies are vital, but they won’t remain static. It’s the durable skills—like problem-solving, communication, and adaptability—that equip workers to transfer their knowledge, adjust to shifting roles, and thrive in evolving career landscapes.
For educators in the Gorge, the message is clear. Embedding these employability skills into classroom projects and CTE programs of study is not just an add-on; it’s central to preparing students for the realities of the modern workforce.
Educators can start today by:
Exploring the Oregon Employability Skills curriculum for ready-to-use strategies.
Visiting the STEM Hub’s new Educator–Industry Matchmaking Dashboard—an easily searchable database of regional professionals who are eager to partner with schools to bring real-world relevance to students.
By working together, the STEM Hub and its partners can help students strengthen the skills they’ll need to navigate not only their first job, but also the many career and training opportunities that come after.