Marzano Research
A student leading a group discussion, revising a project after feedback, explaining their thinking, or reflecting on how they solved a problem is practicing employability skills. Communication, collaboration, problem-solving, adaptability, leadership, and self-management are already woven into strong teaching. The next step is making those skills more visible, intentional, and connected across grade levels.
These five Marzano Research blogs move from the big picture to practical examples, discussing what employability skills matter now and showing how schools and districts are helping students build them.
1. Start with the research: Future-Proofing Employability Skills
This blog explains why the original federal Employability Skills Framework needed an update and what Marzano Research learned from a broad-scale research scan to review the evidence on building a future-ready workforce and what employers are looking for now. It also identifies five shifts education leaders can make to apply that research, including starting early, embedding skills into academic content, expanding work-based learning, investing in AI literacy, and preparing educators for a changing role.
Read this one first if you want the research background and leadership-level takeaways.
2. Then move into classrooms: Supporting Employability Skills in Every Classroom
This blog goes beyond establishing the case for employability skills and gets more practical. It shows how employability skills can be built at different grade levels, from early collaboration and creative thinking in elementary school to career-connected projects in high school.
The useful point here is that school and district leaders do not necessarily need to create a separate employability skills course to do this well. Leaders can help educators define the skills students are already practicing, build shared language across grade levels, and support making it part of everyday learning.
3. See what system-level work can look like: Building Skill Pathways Tied to Instruction
Moving from general guidance to a concrete example, this blog looks at how the Colorado Rural Education Collaborative worked with Marzano Research and Generation Schools Network to define, teach, and measure employability skills in rural districts.
The strongest takeaway is that graduate profiles and skills frameworks need to be usable. CREC’s work shows how districts can define skills clearly, map them across grade bands, and connect assessment to real classroom and career-connected tasks.
4. Make student growth visible: Microcredentials to Strengthen Employability Skills
This Colorado example tells the story of how microcredentials help students recognize and communicate the skills they are developing. Badges give students something concrete to point to, especially when their strengths may not fully show up in grades or traditional measures.
This blog also shows why self-assessment matters. When students reflect on their own work, they begin to understand what readiness looks like and how to talk about it.
5. A teacher perspective: Colorado’s Essential Skills in Real Classrooms
This final read brings the topic closest to daily instruction. In this Q&A, Wendy Deagman, an English Language Support Specialist in Colorado, explains how the state’s Essential Skills framework can deepen learning across content areas.
Many teachers are already cultivating these skills in their students, but planning with them in mind can move students beyond surface-level tasks. This blog is a useful reminder that employability skills are ultimately about better learning, stronger student agency, and clearer preparation for whatever comes next.