The Work Study Imperative: How Higher Ed Prepares Students for a New Labor Market

Recorded live at the 2026 ASU+GSV Summit in San Diego, this session featured Brandon Busteed, CEO at Edconic; Frank Shushok, President and CEO at Roanoke College; Vanessa Kenon, Associate Vice President Technology Compliance and Community Engagement at University of Texas at San Antonio; Courtney Hills McBeth, Chief Academic Officer and Provost at Western Governors University; and Paul Fain, Editor at Work Shift.Only 3 percent of U.S. learners participated in apprenticeships, even as employer trust in degrees declined and AI disrupted traditional “first jobs.” Workforce Pell, federal reforms, and renewed employer demand created a pivotal moment for scaling employer-aligned experiences for recent college graduates. This session convened university leaders, edtech builders, and policy architects to examine the fusion of work and study, the shift to competency-verified hiring, and the creation of durable industry ecosystems.Panelists addressed structural barriers and outlined a practical roadmap for building career and work pathways that could move the labor market. The discussion explored how higher education could better align learning with employment, helping students navigate a rapidly changing workforce while building durable systems that support long-term economic mobility.