Keeping them interested and on track, even during hard times.
This is so true, we have found that not necessarilly retention, but enrollment into additional training areas is definately down if it is made known that there are few jobs available at this time. I have had several students ask "why should I continue in the program if there are not going to hardly be any jobs when I finish". I had a perfect example of this not even two weeks ago. I had a former graduate student contact me via e-mail, telling me he has been having a hard time finding a job at his local dealership. He then stated because of this, he feels he had wasted his time completing manufacturer specific training. I had to reassure him that, no education is a waste of your time, how you use that education and how you make a future interviewer understand the importance of that additional education is nothing short of selling yourself for a positive end result. We as educator's sometimes have to help future, current, or graduate students sometimes understand the importance of their education not only for a career goal, but how that education can, and/or has made them a better person for it.
I also try to suggest to the students to make up business cards and start doing work on the side to help develop a name for themselves which will help to ultimately maybe start their own busness.
I like this approach. Often students seem to think that there's only one job they can get with the skills they learn in school, but that's usually because they don't know about all the opportunities that exist. Part of Career Services' role should be illuminating students about how many different jobs their skills could lead them to.
Tanya,
Always try to relate workplace stories. This makes all the difference in the world.
Dr. Larry Banks
Using real life situation and what the student might experiance out in the field always seems to interest my students.
