The ACA 5-Year Camp Impact Study explores if and how camp prepares youth participants for college, career, and their lives outside of camp. Under the direction of an all-volunteer Research Advisory Committee and in partnership with researchers at the University of Utah, the Youth Impact Study aims to document the distinct and transferable outcomes of camp.

We recently shared a blog post that provides evidence that social skills are learned at summer programs and may be transferred to academics and the workplace.  We learned that young people gain a great deal when they attend camp, notably in the areas of social-emotional learning, but that was just Phase 1 of the study.

Following your passions doesn’t get you a job or lead to happiness. Follow your aptitudes.

There is a disconnect between jobs and workers. The workforce needs certain jobs but people are not trained for them, and are interested in doing other jobs.

A McKinsey article highlights this interesting dilemma. On the one hand, almost 40 percent of American employers say they cannot find people with the skills they need, even for entry-level jobs. Almost 60 percent complain of lack of preparation, even for entry-level jobs. On the other hand, this “skills gap” represents a massive pool of untapped talent, and it has dire consequences, including economic underperformance, social unrest, and individual despair.

In today’s knowledge-based society, there is an increased demand for individuals who are prepared to succeed in academics and the workplace. This is an individual who is academically prepared in reading, writing, and mathematics knowledge AND possesses life skills (e.g. interpersonal skills and leadership) .

A LinkedIn survey highlights that employers regularly identify social competencies as the “most valuable yet hard-to-find” capabilities of workers.  Widespread concern exists that young people lack these essential skills.