As institutions continue to look at improving enrollment and retention efforts, it is so important that they consider more avenues to connect students to the workforce and gainful employment. As a community college administrator at two different community colleges for the past several years, one of my key goals has been making sure that we focus on strategic planning geared toward supporting our students from entry to completion, with the idea of workforce or transfer being the end goal. I have been a firm believer that we must always be student-centered and always support our students, but we also owe it to our community to develop strategic employer partnerships, locally and nationally, to help our students gain the degree or certifications necessary to get a good salaried job and enter the workforce.

Implementation

To do this work, institutions must invest in the process. How can each of your departments, from student services, administration, and faculty develop a plan together that really focuses on a pathway to employment model. Here are several steps to make this happen:

1. Invest in career services and the tools and resources necessary to do this work. Make sure you have the tools that focus on employment, some examples are, Career Coach from Lightcast, O-Net, Roadtrip Nation to name a few.
2. Ensure that you have gainful employment data ready for your region to share with the campus community.
3. Come up with a plan to embed these tools and resources into your college processes from the beginning, especially with your advisors or counselors to use.
4. Implement training for additional staff and faculty who may utilize these tools and develop processes that focus on career outcomes that are a part of a student's educational journey.
5. An additional step to look at also is the need to develop partnerships and memorandums of understanding (MOUs) with local and national employers and define what those processes look like when they interact with staff, faculty, and students. Will there be internship opportunities? Can they come in every semester to present or do workshops on different opportunities? Can they hire your students and pay for their education? Outline those processes to make it easier for employers and for students. The vision can then be shared campus wide so there is an understanding on the "why" we are doing this work.

Impact on Veterans and Military-Connected Students

During my time developing these models, one major group I found to be impacted by these efforts are our veterans and military-connected students. Our veterans and military-connected students bring so much already from their job experiences. Transition looks different for every military service member when they are transitioning to becoming a veteran. Whether they are junior or senior enlisted, officers, served four years or retiring, we must be prepared to help this population get into the workforce and help connect them to employers both locally and nationally, especially if some may only need a couple certifications to get a job. We have to make sure we have advisors trained to work with veterans and military-connected students, and that they are working with the school certifying official to develop specific programming geared toward the workforce and gainful employment opportunities. Work with your local Chamber of Commerce or develop key relationships with local industry. Get connected with veteran service organizations like 50 Strong that help support the pathway to the workforce. It will benefit this population and have an immediate impact!

Another issue that arises is the limited time span of GI Bill® benefits, there are only 36 months to use these benefits. So, it is important that we help this group stay on track and present them with the opportunity to not only be educated about their benefits but to make sure they are on the appropriate career pathway that will lead them to gainful employment without wasting time.

Supporting veterans and our military-connected students should not be a responsibility for the military and veterans center. This work should be included in college strategic planning and made an institutional concern not just a department one. Workforce (or transfer for community college students) should be one of the key goals for all students, but the benefits for our veterans and our military students is endless and could really change their lives for the better.

Article Topics

Job Search Advice Military Friendly Institutions Serving Military in HigherEd Veterans Academic Success Working as a Veteran in HigherEd

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