How to support disadvantaged groups in the global workforce?

UNESCO IESALC’s report titled, Breaking barriers: the role of higher education in advancing employability for all, published jointly with the Lumina Foundation, serves as a strategic roadmap for higher education institutions to better support the transition of disadvantaged groups into the global workforce.

While global access to higher education has expanded significantly, the “right to education” must now encompass the right to thrive in the labor market. It identifies a critical gap between academic enrollment and successful professional integration, particularly for underrepresented student groups.

Emphasizes that higher education must move beyond traditional academic instruction to actively bridge the gap between graduation and meaningful employment for all students. Employability is not just a “job” but a set of portable competencies and qualifications that enhance the capacity to secure and retain decent work.

The report focuses on four key populations that face disproportionate hurdles in the transition from university to work:

• Low socio-economic status (SES): Students often cannot afford “unpaid” stepping-stones like internships and lack the professional networks (social capital) that wealthier peers utilize.
• Students with disabilities: Approximately 80% of students with disabilities report dissatisfaction with institutional inclusion measures. They face physical/digital inaccessibility and persistent workplace discrimination.
• Refugees and displaced persons: Facing legal uncertainty regarding the recognition of their qualifications and navigating complex immigration frameworks that hinder employment.
• Indigenous students: Confronting cultural and linguistic barriers, as well as a lack of culturally responsive career services.

In labor markets the report finds skill gaps: curricula often evolve slower than industry needs. For example, mismatches in high-demand fields like Data Science and Digital Marketing are estimated at nearly 40%.

In many economies, limited specialized roles lead to graduates being stuck in jobs that do not utilize their full skill sets, causing wage stagnation and job dissatisfaction.

It is imperative that HE policies go beyond access and completion rates to ensure that graduates are effectively prepared for the labor market. This requires a comprehensive, multi-stakeholder approach and needs to include a series of activities such as addressing skills mismatches, adapting curricula to emerging labor market trends, strengthening career support services, or fostering industry collaborations

Strategic recommendations

Higher education (HE) policies must shift from focusing solely on access and completion to ensuring labour market readiness. This requires aligning curricula with emerging trends (digital and green economies) and fostering deep industry collaborations to maximize the societal benefits of a degree. Some key pillars for implementation:

1. Institutional coordination: Move away from isolated services. HEIs should integrate employability across all departments (academic, disability, and indigenous offices) to create a holistic support model.
2. Student-centered support: Support systems should span the entire journey —from pre-arrival to career placement. This includes language training, flexible participation models (hybrid/asynchronous), and an intersectional lens to address compounded marginalization.
3. Representation and mentorship: Success is driven by mentors with shared lived experiences. Structured peer and professional mentorship should include non-linear career paths like social enterprise and community development.
4. Continuous assessment: Institutions must move beyond static models. Using student advisory boards and real-time labor market data ensures programs remain agile and responsive to evolving student needs.
5. Sustainability and scalability: To survive beyond initial funding, programs must diversify income (grants, alumni, social impact investors) and be embedded into the university’s core strategic planning.
6. Employer engagement: HEIs should treat employers as strategic partners who contribute to curriculum design, guest lecturing, and co-investment in support infrastructure, rather than just job providers.
7. Multi-level collaboration: No institution can solve systemic barriers alone. Strategic alliances between universities and policymakers (Ministries of Labor/Education) are essential to create national frameworks for inclusive graduate tracking and skills certification.
8. Future labor markets: The digital economy offers mobility to refugees and students with disabilities, while the green transition provides unique leadership opportunities for Indigenous graduates to apply traditional ecological knowledge.
9. Whole-of-government approach: Policy coherence is vital. Aligning education, employment, and social protection policies ensures that support for disadvantaged graduates is mutually reinforcing across different government ministries.

Tackling disparity

To ensure long-term student success, HEIs must adapt their strategies to provide inclusive, demand-driven education. A strategic focus on employability and market alignment is vital for maximizing the benefits of higher education across economies. This mission is particularly urgent for underrepresented students, for whom inclusive economic opportunities are a key driver of social mobility.

To tackle disparity, UNESCO IESALC and the Lumina Foundation are shining a spotlight on evidence-based solutions and inclusive strategies that help close the employability gap. In the dedicated portal Employability for All, free resources are available, providing higher education staff, policymakers, and institutions with practical tools and inspiration to strengthen career-readiness support.