Abstract 

Preparing 21st-century students to be college and career ready is complex and requires collaborative efforts among secondary schools, colleges and universities, policy makers and business and industry leaders. Students’ developmental processes, motivation, interest, aspirations, socioeconomic status and support systems have been contributing factors that influence the direction they take to become college and career ready and ultimately life ready to be successful in the world. The identified list of employability skills and the conceptual model established by this review of literature provide a framework to assist in understanding the complex process of preparing students to be college and career ready in the 21st century. College teachers and university teacher preparation programs can benefit from this research as they work to incorporate 21st-century knowledge, skills and dispositions into the undergraduate curriculum. Improved resources and support for educators, those ultimately responsible and held accountable for student achievement, will assist in creating solutions to better prepare students to be career ready in the 21st century.