What about advisory groups? I have read through the other replies, and see that some of the responses have come close to the concept of advisory groups, but no one specifically names them.
An advisory group, made up of potential employers of a school's graduates, would not only help with curriculum development and improvement. It would also be a good place to begin the networking that should occur among students, employers, and school personnel. They could also be a resource for externship sites, field trips, job shadowing opportunities, outside speakers, and so on.
Hi Linda
Very well stated. Advisory Boards offer many opportunities. Chosen well, the school has a source for free and valuable advice. Members can serve many roles such as curriculum evaluation, mentoring, presentations, job openings, new enrollments, scholarship providers, and more. Whether required or not, every school benefits from an advisory board.
Best wishes
Susan
Dear Debra,
We have a full service clinic at our school for massage and facial services. The students really feel involved and excited when starting their clinical rotation. They develop their skills in a controlled environment and gain the confidence needed to be successful in the work world. We have a formal feedback form which the patients fill out after their massage or facial which gives the instructor and the student instant feedback to assist them with their technical skill development and customer service skills. They put their experience on their resumes. We have graduation awards for the best clinician based on client feedback forms and clinical supervisors evaluations. Students really work hard for this award.
We have a career development course where they learn about interview skills, starting their own business, and complete a resume.
Hi Jan
Really a great example of student academic and social integration into school. The more a student is involved with the school, with others, and has a feeling of satisfaction, the more likely s/he will stay and graduate. Of course clinic experience adds to a person's resume and gives them a feeling of the real world of work. This makes the transition from school to work sucessful.
Great comments.
Susan
Since the school that I am affiliated with delivers the curriculum for partner organizations, all of our students are currently employed with the partner organization. However, these partners expect (and in most cases, require) something in return for their investment in the program. All of our Masters Degree students must participate in a team Masters Business Project which is designed to not only provide practical application of the knowledge gained (and a good addition to a resume), but which also produces a Return on Investment for the partner organization.
Many of our graduates have promoted within their organizations as a result of getting their degrees and most of our military students that have retired, have moved on to productive jobs in the civilian community.
Placement isn't a factor -- success is.
Denzil Verardo, Ph.D.
Great point Denzil. Can you give us examples of how students gained promotion or job advancement as a result of training? And also the types of projects they completed and generally how it benefitted their companies. Many individuals enrolled in this continuing education course offer less than degree programs. But partnering can be applicable to them all. These schools also must comply with regulatory bodies that are interested in placement numbers. It's great when success is more of a factor than a number.
Thanks for your comments.
Susan
We have enhanced our placement/student motivation for employment in a couple ways.
1.We post current job information of each of our degrees offered ie….starting salary, number of job openings in the area etc…
2.We have what we call a “Wall of Fame†pictures of graduates, the degree they received, little testimony from them on the school and their current employment.
3.We also actively get our PAC involved. We have our broad member's names and companies posted in our school. We have them regularly involved in mock interviews with our future graduates, which they are able to give real-world feed back to the student.
Hi Joshua
Sounds like you are doing a great job in placement. Seems like you are positioning placement so that students are aware of employment and job search tasks throughout their studies at your school. Bringing people in for mock interviews is great. What is important is early and consistent and repeat activities focusing on preparing for and getting a job.
Very good
Susan
We teach a hands-on computer repair course. We also have a service department that repairs computers brought in for repair. We invite our computer repair graduates to spend a few weeks working along with our service techs to gain real-world hands-on experience. This gives our graduates an enormous boost in confidence before they get their first job.
Hi Guy
Right you are re real world experience as part of the curriculum. It does give students confidence and they are able to convey that during an interview. And they have some experience to add to their resumes. There are opportunities for job placement as well. Very good concept. Susan
We are a school that specializes in teaching skills used in a free lance setting. This poses certain challenges with regards to tracking placement numbers. But we start with asking the student what their career goals are when they are in the application process. Admissions ensures that these questions are asked, and our placement director does the follow up. It does help to keep the students focussed on their career goals, and as they get closer to graduation, our placement director helps them with their resume and emphasises the importance of networking and presenting a professional package when dealing with potential employers. In addition, we hold Career Development seminars where people from the industry share their experiences. Is there anything else that we might be missing?
HI Susan
What type of programs do you offer? Sounds like it includes training where people can work on their own. If so, suggest you hold classes or workshops on how to set up ones business, network, market, etc. Also how to manage the slow times and what to do when they are too busy to think about the next client. We may have more ideas when we know the type of training you offer.
Best wishes, Susan
Similar to some of the other answers the students are expected to write their resume in the Core and General Education courses. In our recent brainstorming session it was agreed that the resume writing exercise should be graded. In addition, the students should add to the resume and periodically it should be checked. This will ensure that the students will have a current resume when they are ready to seek jobs. We have also implemented regular employability skills workshops with handouts that include examples of resume templates specific to their program, with useful website addresses for jobs, and mock interview practice.
An example of mock interview can involve candidate who does everything that they should not do in an interview while the students/graduates can watch and identify the wrong things. Some examples can be:chewing gum, wearing inappropriate clothes, bringing in the cell phone, having coffee with them, not answering the questions right.
HI Suhas
We really like the idea of resume assignments, grading, and also periodic updating. It gives students to opportunity to see that they are growing and developing as they complete their training. It could have really positive effects on retention and self concept. Employment skills training is more than resume writing, as you know. As to the "what not to do" on an interview, it sounds very cute and certainly attention getting and relieves stress. Sometimes when showing what not to do people are not always clear. Or they remember but don't know if what was taught was good or bad.
Best wishes
Susan
I work for a small culinary arts school. We have ample jobs at all exprience to offer our current students/graduates which we are thrilled about. However, we can improve our placement department by:
1. Holding mock interview/resume writing seminars for students
2. Site visits by placement director to ensure our students progress/success.
3. Inform students of professional associations they can get involved in
4. Adding additional key people to our advisory board for increased ideas/opinions to improve placement services
All great ideas, Cyrstal. Here are a few more to consider: Stay in contact with your employers. Ask them to evaluate your grad as an employee. Any training that needs to be added so the new hire is truly work ready? Does the employer have employees they want to send to your school for training? Will the employer mentor students, evaluate your curriculum, attend a job fair at your school? Hold mock interviews, give presentations at your school,etc? Also you might consider offering workshops in how to negotiate the salary you want, how to get a raise, etc. Lots of things to do to create a real value add career services department. You're doing great. Susan
I agree with Chad. Having industry professionals on staff is extremely helpful in navigating past the 'gatekeepers' to those making the hiring decisions.
For professional occupations, one helpful way to increase the success of students and graduates is to teach techniques for researching prospective employers. During the process of researching a given field or company, speaking with current employees can reveal a lot about their respective organizations. That interview process can reveal a lot about the company and provide a basis for key themes to hammer away at during the initial interview, or just to secure that interview in the first place. Taking an active role in professional organizations is another way to get leads on jobs before they become public.
Hi John
Really great ideas. Yes, students should be taught to investigate their prospective employer. What is the work culture, advancement potential, organizational structure,products and services? During an interview grads will really sound informed and interested in their prospective employer. We also support the idea of joining professional organizations. Many schools offer student membership in relevant organizations and encourage students to get involved. Thanks for the ideas, Susan
Hi John and Chad
We encourage schools to hire instructors who also work in the field - industry professionals. Then the instructors can talk first hand about the job and workplace. We also encourage schools to bring in professionals from each industry to be on hand to coach students, tell them what working is really like, and talk about the job requirements and how to be successful. Thanks for the ideas, Susan
