Sandra Goddard

In today's world it is important to be globally fluent - able to understand, communicate with, and work with coworkers from other cultures. Some companies do business worldwide, or an employee may be in a position to manage coworkers from other cultures.  Activities to help students increase their global fluency can include having each student talk to the class about their culture and customs, invite older family members to talk to the class about the culture, customs etc, take virtual fieldtrips, and compare and contrast differences between the cultures they have learned about. 

In previous generations, career planning and management was not as complex as it is today; a person got a job with a company, and generally stayed with the same company throughout their career - they only needed to work toward getting promotions and moving up within the company. In today's workplace, employees do not necessarily stay with the same company, and they can choose to navigate and direct their career in multiple directions. In order to plan their career path, the student needs to complete self assessment to determine what career they want to pursue, investigate the possible opportunities and… >>>

It is imperative to teach students to be professional in all aspects of their life. Being professional at work is expected, but it is also important to be professional in all social media platforms. 

It is important to develop leadership skills in students because it is important to career development. Exercises to help develop leadership skills in the classroom include group projects in which one student takes on the role of leader, bringing established or well-known leaders into the class, or having students research leadership organizations. 

It is important for students to develop both hard and soft skills, as both will be needed in the work environment. Technology is becoming more and more important both in the classroom and in the workplace, so developing students' technology skills helps them be more comfortable in both arenas. When incorporating technology in the classroom, it should relate to the curriculum and have a purpose. Additionally, it should be considered and aid or adjunct, and not the focus of the class. 

Teamwork is important skill for students to learn; it fosters communication, camaraderie, and cooperation. Businesses often look for teamwork skills in their employees. Teams have different phases such as forming, storming, norming, performing, evaluating, and adjourning. Activities that can help student learn teamwork skills are two truths and a lie, perfect square, and picture this. 

One of the most important things to develop in students is critical thinking, as this a crucial part of success in the work environment. An instructor can foster critical thinking skills by using strategies like silent reflection, KWL or KW, and other group activities.

Once you have evaluated your services to see which ones are effective and which ones are less successful, you can start looking how you can grow your program. What areas need more attention, which services could be expanded. Start with small steps and identify realistic goals that can be achieved.

In order for your student services program to be successful, you must develop partnerships with employers in the fields that you. Start small (by contacting employers who have hired your students in the past), and build your relationship over time. Reach out through surveys, emails, and hiring events. As time goes on it may be possible to get these employers to make long term commitments.  Keep up with trends in the employment arena such as application process and changes in technology, and shift your strategy accordingly.  

The first step is to find out internally what competencies are already in place in the classrooms (research syllabi, talk to program director, etc) Then connect with employer groups to determine what competencies are needed in the workplace. This will help you determine what competencies are needed and how to integrate them into the curriculum. 

Then you need to organize the tasks to be implemented and decide how to distribute the work load.