Confronting The Talent Gap With Student Confidence

Children Start Ruling Out Careers By Kindergarten. Schools Find the Answer in Career Talks

The talent gap is a mismatch between employer needs and worker skills; fundamentally, however, it starts as a gap between what children can do and what they believe they can do. Schools are in the perfect position to close this belief gap. When students meet relatable role models, hear about honest and challenging moments, and receive specific encouragement, mindsets shift: “I can’t” becomes “I think I can,” then “So I will.”

Psychologists call this type of confidence self-efficacy, and it involves both believing in your ability to take action and in the effect your actions have on outcomes. Left unaddressed, a belief gap becomes a pervasive barrier rather than a momentary mindset and significantly contributes to the talent gap.

The challenge is that self-efficacy begins eroding early.

The Problem Starts Early

Children as young as seven are limiting career aspirations. Even as they learn to read, they look at the world and close doors: “I can’t,” or “People like me don’t do those jobs.” Researchers call this circumscription—the premature narrowing of career options. The core issue isn’t interest; it’s belief—belief that those paths are not for “people like me.” This early narrowing is common and shapes every decision that follows. Schools start to address this by building awareness of careers.

Career Awareness with Confidence

Children can not aspire to what they can’t see. Without early exposure and guidance, course selection and post‑secondary choices become a maze. So many teens are making career choices based on limited information, leaving them less confident and widening readiness gaps.

Sometimes, the level or accuracy of awareness is the issue. If a child has seen a job in a minimal context, she might make a decision too early. This is especially evident in areas like Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM). Even though many women thrive in STEM careers, too many girls see mostly men in those roles. If that is what girls know, it is easy for them to dismiss STEM careers without any further thought. The same dynamic shows up across both gender and racial lines, prompting kids to think they do not belong. That is not an ability problem; it’s a social one. They are mistakenly internalizing what they perceive as social cues, ultimately leading to a career-confidence problem.

To prevent children from losing ground, schools and community partners need to build both awareness and the right confidence to keep the doors open to many careers during their elementary and middle school years, something that is already happening at networks like LUMIN Schools. It’s a simple idea: children can begin developing knowledge of the wide world of work and build career confidence before high school through meaningful interactions with caring working adults.

Intentional Personal Connections Build Confidence

Children need to hear from working adults about their careers. With some simple adaptations to the traditional career day presentation, students can walk away with more than just information. It starts with just three asks of adult volunteers:

Ask #1: Share your career path and one difficult moment along the way. This transparency and vulnerability helps students anticipate barriers and navigate them. When adults are vulnerable with children, connection forms quickly and confidence grows.

Ask #2: Connect your day-to-day work with something you learned in school. Students are preparing for future opportunities now, but sometimes it feels very distant. Hearing how specific subjects, classes, or extracurriculars were used—or not—makes the purpose of school more concrete and boosts motivation today.

Ask #3: Encourage children to learn more. Children’s confidence grows when adults notice strengths and name next steps, even in brief first-time meetings. Use simple conversation starters (e.g., those from the American School Counselor Association) to create natural openings for dialogue and encouragement.

These simple asks, repeated whenever adults visit classrooms, begin to transform perceived social barriers into an appreciation for many more actual possibilities. It doesn’t guarantee success, but when this happens in elementary and middle school, it sets children up for more productive conversations and decisions in and through high school. Ultimately, they start to see their futures differently.

Giving the Gift of Self-Confidence

Confidence is not just handed out; it’s cultivated. Schools, with community support, are well-positioned to build it. With just a few intentional prompts, adults help children connect to future opportunities. When schools start early and repeat often, children say “I can’t” less and dream more.