One of the recent connecting activities I facilitated highlighted what we need to consider when we bring industry and higher education together. I want to share that experience with you so we can continue the dialogue about how to navigate this Grey Space.
A company, we will call them the Eagles (only because I am working on learning the solo for Hotel California right now), has a desperate need for talent. In addition to the NACE Workplace Competencies, the Eagles need entry-level talent which has knowledge in three different academic majors.
The Eagles have an intensive training program to help skill up new talent. However, their growth in this market is hypersonic. They do not have a talent pipeline developed to sustain growth.
Also, this industry is one that is lucrative, but not many people know about. It is not one of those industries on most people’s radar. Because of this, branding is an issue with potential talent.
The company is family owned, and wants to stay located in their home city. The home city of course wants that because of job creation, tax base, and the growth of other business in the area.
The Eagles do not have the talent pipeline they need. Enter the university.
So, as you may have deduced, the company has a training program, the university has the talent (students), infrastructure, and faculty. There should be a way to connect these resources to create a talent pipeline for the Eagles.
External to higher education we can see it clearly. Bundle some courses, add in a module from the Eagles training program, add in some branding help on campus and walla – skilled and informed students ready to go to work.
Now the Eagles can remain competitive, provide high paying jobs for the citizens of their city, and continue to contribute to the tax base for social services, schools, and so on.
Whew, glad we solved that one….
Oh, but wait. There is more. It can’t be that easy, right?
Why it can’t be that easy:
There are only so many credit hours in a degree. If we add something, something must leave the curriculum. And when that happens, the faculty need to vote on this change, then it goes from committee to committee to committee to be approved, maybe. Other considerations include new course preps for faculty and how will we measure learning for assessment purposes?
In addition, students need to be able to graduate in four years, or the university is punished financially through a performance-based funding model. In the meantime, The Eagles need to fuel their talent pipeline now or they lose their competitive edge and the city loses an employer for their citizens.
A perfect example of the Grey Space.
Industry needs help developing a pipeline of talent. They have good paying jobs to fill in our city
Higher Education can provide that talent…maybe…in a while.
Here are some solutions to consider, and I would love to hear your thoughts in these through the Linkedin post where this was shared.
- Modify one of the three modules to be used as part of an internship for credit course
- Engage a faculty member interested in research in this space and incorporate the technology the Eagles use in the course
- Bundle together courses from the three different academic majors to create a minor
- Badge system: Work with the employer to determine which courses help them reduce their bench cost (time between hiring a new employee and when they are productive), and market these courses as part of a degree program
Wait. Hold the phone….or the credits in this case.
Why does this have to be credit based? That seems to be the first place we go in academia is to try and fold processes into our courses for credit system.
What if we were not constrained by the 16 week for credit system with student, health, and recreation fees as well as the fees for credit?
- In collaboration with the university career center, hire an intern to develop a marketing and awareness plan using youtube and social media.
- Then, offer mini-internships, paying students to take the first module of the three-part training program as well as working with a professional at the Eagles.
- Provide a pre-certificate in the Eagles industry credentialing the intern for their work on the first module.
- Yes, that will all cost money. So does recruiting. So does not having the talent to compete and grow.
All of the options above also require a focused branding plan because the students are not aware of the opportunities the Eagles have. After all, do students graduating today even know what the Hotel California solo by Don Felder sounds like?
Have fun. Share your thoughts on LinkedIn or in the comments below.