HONG KONG, October 21, 2014 — With many fresh graduates poorly equipped with practical skills for the working environment, business, academic and governmental leaders have come together in this evening panel discussion to exchange and raise up possible solutions for this issue.

With Colin Browne, the Vice President and Managing Director of Asia Sourcing at VF Corporation, Michael M. Crow, the President of Arizona State University, Peter K. Yam, the retired President of Greater China of Emerson on the panel moderated by Peter Gordon, the Editor of the Asian Review of Books, Asia Society Hong Kong Center provided a platform for these intellects to voice out their concerns and ideas.

Opening with the issue on point, Michael Crow stated that, “In short, student loans are piling up [and] unemployment remains very high. And yet businesses are challenged to find people with the skills that are needed to add value to their companies.” This led to the panel discussion in which moderator Peter Gordon addressed the question of the job-specific skills which fresh graduates lack, inciting insights from Colin Browne on the challenge for businesses to connect with the new millennial generation or the “homo sapien sapiens*” as coined by Crow and Peter Yam’s thoughts on the lack of people and communications skills among young people.

The ultimate question put forth by Crow in addressing the gap between what graduates are capable of and what business employers expect boils down to “How can we create a system where there is an identity of what a person’s capability is?”

Video: Watch the complete program (1 hr., 28 min.)

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