Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Connecting Students and Employers - Part II

Last month I was enthusiastic about sharing feedback with you related to visits I had with employers throughout the Moraine Park District. The insight and perspective I gained was invaluable; so much so, that I continued with more business meetings this month.   

KLH in Germantown and GenMet in Mequon, are two examples of area employers I had the pleasure to engage in recent dialogue with. Both of these businesses have representation on MPTC advisory committees and both seek to hire MPTC graduates. It is critical to understand that their input on program and curriculum changes is imperative in ensuring our graduates leave with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to be employed by companies such as these.  From these meetings, it was increasingly clear to me that employers are seeking employees who are willing to: 1) learn, 2) problem-solve, 3) work in a team environment, and 4) achieve success/advancement through providing top-level performance.

If you are an MPTC student, these are good employee traits to be aware of. On December 1, MPTC, along with the Fond du Lac Area Association of Commerce, will be sharing the results of their 2011 Retirement and Retention Study. Results from this study will reveal trends for the future of workforce development in Fond du Lac. As employers review and analyze the study results, the importance of hiring and retaining qualified and skilled manufacturing workers will likely take on an even greater emphasis. For students, it is important to know that employers have the ability (and right) to be selective when hiring. They will review a candidate thoroughly and only decide to hire if they feel the candidate will be an asset to their company.

If you are a future graduate or alumni who has been applying for jobs or who has been recently hired, and has words of advice to share with others about the job search/hiring process, I encourage you to share them in the comment section of my blog.

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Connecting Students and Employers

For several weeks now, I have been traveling throughout the Moraine Park District meeting with employers. Kraft Foods, Mayville Engineering, Alliance Laundry Systems, Ripon Printers, Signicast and Broan-NuTone all allowed me to tour their facilities and learn about the products they produce.  This was a wonderful learning experience. Even more exciting, however, was hearing these employers speak about the quality of Moraine Park’s programs and, most importantly, expressing their willingness and interest to hire our graduates!

Moraine Park has nearly 800 individuals serving on our Program Advisory Committees. These individuals are owners and employees of the hundreds of companies located within our district. They are willing to hire our graduates because they know Moraine Park teaches the technical skills needed for today’s jobs but also the soft skills such as critical thinking, problem solving, team building and communication skills needed for a well-rounded employee. If you are a Moraine Park student or graduate, I encourage you to visit these companies and learn more about their job openings as well as the types of positions they will be hiring for in the future.  In addition, check out TechConnect an option for employers to list job openings for graduates of the Wisconsin Technical College System.

If you’re a Moraine Park grad serving on an Advisory Committee or who has used our TechConnect service, please feel free to share your experience with me.