Using Deliberate Practice to Transform Learning Culture: Helping Students Put Real Skills in their OSCM Toolbox

Students select majors like supply chain management largely because they want to obtain a high‐paying job at graduation. They expect that after 4 or 5 years of studies, they will be ready to achieve early‐career success. Data, however, reveal that students often are not prepared. Recruiters are noticing. In various studies, employers say that a large majority of graduates are not workplace ready. We argue that this readiness gap results from a mismatch between academia's focus on knowledge transfer and employers’ expectations that new hires possess real competencies. To remedy this readiness gap, we redesigned our curriculum to adopt a deliberate practice pedagogy. What have we learned? Deliberate practice is hard work. Both faculty and students must learn and practice new behaviors. The good news: deliberate practice helps students acquire real expertise that recruiters value. This article makes the case for deliberate practice and outlines a proven path to transformation.