Educating Employable Students
Our last newsletter examined the rising cost of education as well as the rising cost of educating. After doing our research for the newsletter it was clear; no matter where you stand, costs are rising. Today we take a look at some of the forces driving changes in the educations of our future leaders and workforce.
One of the measures of success of an educational institution that came into sharper focus following the Great Recession is job placement. The job market was weak during and after the recession, and in many cases provided an incentive for students to continue or further their education. When graduates, degree in hand and often with massive debt on their shoulders, were still unable to attain meaningful employment they were left wondering what the value of their education really was. Educating employable students has and will continue to become increasingly important for preparatory schools and colleges, even years after coming out of a financial crises that put the value of education under a microscope (especially in the humanities ) .
The responsibility of student employment often falls to the career services office at universities. Once an over-looked door passed by on the way to the library, career service centers are now getting a lot more attention. Andrew Chan is the Head of Career Services at Wake Forest University. His office has seen a dramatic uptick in students seeking internship placements, help with resumes, and networking opportunities. Chan welcomes the change, saying “If we’re going to justify the value of education, we’re going to have to provide students with the skills they need to compete in the economy”.
“If we’re going to justify the value of a higher education, we’re going to have to provide students with the skills they need to compete in the economy,”
-Andrew Chan
Head of career services, Wake Forest University
Students go to college with the intention of advancing their career opportunities. It stands to reason that higher education should do more than impart knowledge; it must also be tasked with building the skills students need to be productive employees. This article form Forbes, written after the turn of the recession, in 2014 describes 5 reasons why the career services center is the most important office on campus.
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“The more competitive the student needs to be, the more competitive the career office needs to be”
-Gwen Appelbaum
Head of Career Resource Center,
University of Buffalo School of Management