Coming Together to Close the Gap Between Learning and Work  

In February, we shared a first look at the next chapter for Cengage, including how we’re bringing our businesses together. Now, we’re starting to bring that next chapter to life.

The path from education to the workforce is changing. Employers increasingly expect practical experience, job-specific skills, and workplace readiness from day one. For learners, that can make the leap from the classroom to a first job feel bigger than ever.

Our 2026 Graduate Employability Report shows just how real the gap is. 77% of graduates say the experience expected for entry-level roles can seem out of reach. And 84% are pursuing non-degree learning or skills-based training after graduation to continue building their skills.

Educators feel the shift, too. 62% of instructors say they’ve had to do more in recent years to prepare students for entry-level jobs.  

What this tells us is that career readiness needs to be naturally woven into learning, so learners can build the skills and experience they need along the way.

Career readiness starts before the job search

For us at Cengage, bringing learning and career readiness closer together means giving learners more opportunities to see the skills they’re developing, apply what they know in authentic ways, and understand where those experiences can take them.

And this is all shaping what comes next.

Our breadth of expertise is grounded in one shared purpose: learning that powers every future. Our new brand reflects that evolution and gives us a clear, unified way to tell the story of who we are and the impact we can create together.

Our new brand and digital experience better reflect who we are today, while continued innovation puts that vision into practice. It’s all about making career readiness a more visible and meaningful part of learning and creating stronger connections between education and employment.

Bringing career readiness into MindTap

This October, learners and educators will start to experience more of that innovation directly in MindTap.

Announced today, new career competency mapping will help learners see where their coursework is helping them develop career competencies aligned with the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) framework. With the potential to reach approximately one million students annually, it can help make the connection between what learners are doing in their courses and the skills they’re building for their careers more visible.

New workplace simulations take that connection a step further, giving learners opportunities to apply what they know in scenarios relevant to their fields. They’ll make business decisions and see the consequences, configure and troubleshoot networks, analyze real economic data, or practice health care tasks in simulated environments. Current MindTap customers can access these new features in select MindTap courses as soon as they create a new course.

Both build on the AI-powered coaching and learning experiences introduced earlier this year, including the Student Assistant, giving learners more ways to build skills, practice applying them, and use AI responsibly as part of the learning process.

MindTap itself is evolving, too. A simpler, more modern experience will make it easier for faculty and students to navigate and engage with the platform, while bringing the new Cengage brand into a product they use every day.  

What’s coming

The connection between education and employment will continue to evolve. So will the knowledge, skills, and experiences learners need to succeed.

By making career-ready skills more visible, creating more opportunities to put them into practice, and continuing to innovate across the learning experience, we can help learners turn what they know into skills they can use, with learning that powers every future.

We’re excited to keep building on this work, creating stronger connections between learning and career readiness, and giving learners more opportunities to build skills they can use. To learn more about our latest innovations, including what’s new in MindTap, get in touch with us.

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