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11 BizEd May/June 2014 PAU L SH LYKOV/TH I N KSTOCK (CU R R E NCY); WH ITETAG /TH I N KSTOCK (I NTE RVI EW) Prepared for the Job ARE MILLENNIALS prepared to enter the 21st-century workforce? And if not, why not? Bentley University of Waltham, Massachusetts, attempted to answer those questions in a recent survey conducted for the univer- sity by KRC Research. The Bentley Preparedness Sur- vey asked more than 3,000 business recruiters, manag- ers, high school and college students, recent college graduates, parents, and educators for their thoughts on workplace preparedness. Among the findings: ■ Nearly two-thirds of respondents (62 percent) con- sider graduates' lack of preparedness to be a real prob- lem, but they don't agree on how to define it. For exam- ple, just 7 percent of high school students and 9 percent of college students define preparedness as "work ethic," compared with 23 percent of business decision makers and 18 percent of corporate recruiters. Even more tell- ing, 74 percent of business leaders say Millennials lack the work ethic of prior generations—whereas 52 percent of Millennials believe their work ethic is strong. ■ No one thinks any of the key stakeholders are doing a particularly good job of preparing students for their first jobs. Almost half (49 percent) of higher education officials give colleges and universities a grade of "C" or lower, while 51 percent of business decision makers and 43 percent of corporate recruiters give the business community a grade of "C" or lower. And 37 Addressing Financial Reporting in Africa MICHAEL R. BLOOMBERG —founder of Bloomberg L.P. and former mayor of New York City—has launched the Bloomberg Media Initiative Africa to improve financial reporting on that con- tinent. The three-year pan-African program will provide cross-disciplinary education programs and mid-career fellowships to increase the number of business and financial jour- nalists; it also will convene forums that will examine best practices in media worldwide. The goal is to advance transparency, accountability, and gover- nance throughout Africa through accurate reporting of business and financial news. The initial focus of the US$10 million commitment will be on Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa. Bloom- berg will partner with faculty from the University of Nairobi's School of Journalism and Mass Communica- tions and Strathmore Business School in Kenya; the University of Lagos' Department of Mass Communica- tions and the Pan Atlantic University's Lagos Business School in Nigeria; and the Rhodes University's School of Journalism and Media Studies and the University of Pretoria's Gordon Institute of Business Science in South Africa. Together they will develop educational programs focused on business, economics, public pol- icy, finance, and journalism to enhance the skills and knowledge of media professionals. More information can be found at www.mikebloomberg.com. percent of recent college graduates score their own pre- paredness with a "C" or lower. ■ All stakeholders have parts to play in preparing Millennials for the workplace. Seventy-eight percent of respondents agree that businesses should partner with colleges and universities to develop business curricula; 85 percent agree that colleges must impart "real-world expertise" to their students; 94 percent agree that stu- dents must commit to being lifelong learners; and 85 percent agree that parents should encourage their chil- dren to take business classes. "With persistently elevated levels of unemployment among young college graduates, it is absolutely critical that all parties do everything possible to pursue effec- tive strategies for helping Millennials succeed in the workplace," says Gloria Larson, Bentley's president. To read the full survey, visit bentley.edu/preparedu/launch.