Barriers to Employment and Intervention Strategies
The most common barrier I have seen in regard to employability would be varying market trends. Although our institution does ample amount of research, local markets may differ from national trends. In order to address this issue, I believe that campuses should be more educated on which programs are employable in their communities. If admissions did not enroll into these programs, perhaps that location would then discontinue them and concentrate on programs that have better job placement.
Vanessa,
Educating the students of these things are crucial to their success. It is a challenge today to have students provide a good, marketable resume without assistance especially since many don't have a computer or good typing skills. Can you share a best practice that your school employs to assist your students with preparing their resumes?
Sheri Leach
At our school, we educates the students all about the different types of employment situations available, helps them design resumes, business cards, etc.,
Antonia,
Is this a localized issue? In other words, have you tried going out of your immediate market and if so, what have you found? (IE: 200-500 miles away)
Ann Cross
Mr. Starks,
The barrier that I faced was employers having limitations on hiring new RN's. I researched the career market, interviewed hiring managers and felt that I was ready for this new program of graduates. When the first group came out the jobs came along and they were hired. By the third group it began to slow down. One major medical facility said they can not only hire new nurses at certain times of the year. Then a total freeze with another major hospital. I took an aggressive approach and started working with alternate facilities, ex. rehab centers, elder care, and mental health facilities etc. I remain in contact with the major hospitals near and far. I had a career fair and had representation from each hospital. They are starting to hire again, but I would love hear how other campuses handle any RN barriers. (New Program whoa)
What are the most common barriers that your students have encountered that have affected their employability? What strategies has your institution used to specifically address low employment rates related to these issues?
Hi Joseph,
Thank you for sharing your methodology. This will help others taking this course.
Robert Starks Jr.
The decision was based on input from the programs advisory board consiting of employers,doctors, educators who work in the field and community members. Administartion also looked at the number of clinical sites that are avaiable to the students.
Also a market study was conducted regarding the programs in the area, what type of education they provide their students and the length of the program. There are five competitors in the area, three offer a two year degree program,one offers a diploma, and the last one offers a certificate program. This information was used to determine the number of starts and co-hort size for the starts.
Hi Joseph,
Working with external partners can definitely help expand capabilities. I'm glad to see your institution has been successful with this type of program. I'm certain we will continue to hear of other examples from course participants. Thank you for sharing!
Robert Starks Jr.
Hello Joseph,
Market saturation is definitely a challenge of which schools must be mindful. Can you explain how your institution determined the appropriate number by which to reduce starts in this particular program? Any time a program prepares students for fields in which they need to pass a board exam and/or obtain some sort of licensure to be employable, there is a challenge helping students complete these steps in a timely manner. Your intervention strategy is an excellent example of how to address such an issue. Thank you for sharing it!
Robert Starks Jr.
Mr. Starks,
I can say your suggestion of working with your local transportation system in the area is a great idea. Three years ago with started a bus pass system with our students. The campus bought passes at a discounted rate. Students in need of assistance with transportation met with the student service coordinator to recieve a pass that was good for thirty days.
After monitoring students who received the passes we discovered the same students would arrive on campus driving a car. Upon questioning the students we discovered that they only needed the bus pass when they had no funds for gas. This would usually occur during the end of the month. We changed our system to offer passes that were good for only one or two days for these students.
The most common barrier for the students is the market is on the verge of being over saturated in the area due to the number of schools who are graduating students in their area of study.The school has lowered the number of starts and the size of the cohorts to prevent over saturation.
A second barrier was the students would have to wait for three to four months after graduation to sit for the board exam. The school has implemented a web based testing system that will allow the students to take the boards before they graduate. Upon proof of graduation being submitted to the testing agency the scores are released thereby sending the graduates out to apply for jobs being certified in their field of study.
Hi Victoria ,
Thanks for sharing both a challenge and some intervention strategies you have used. This is a tough challenge to overcome since there is only so much one can do and insufficient financial support can cause a lot of stress for students only making the problem worse. Since you raised this important challenge that I'm certain others face, I'll share some other strategies to consider:
1. Develop a carpool program matching students who need a ride with students who have vehicles and are willing to help out. We kept a "Carpool" board in the student lounge so people who needed a ride could sign up and those offering rides could find those in need. We also advertised the program and matched students so it helped a lot!
2. Work with City transportation - I know each city is different but in the past, my school was able to get a large amount of free bus passes and bus passes at a significantly lower rate to provide students
3. Start a food pantry - We collected non-perishable food items we stored. We provided items to students who needed it most and kept our pantry full through continued "food drives" within the institution. This was managed by student services in coordination with Career Services.
4. Collect donated clothing items - We collected clothing items donated by staff. At first, we focused on professional dress attire but expanded to casual clothing as well. Once we started and word got out, more people started donating items. We kept the quality items and donated what we didn't keep to local charities.
5. Collect change - Ever see one of those 5 gallon water jugs filled with spare change? If there is a staff lounge or some sort of location that would work, see if staff are willing to donate their spare change which could be collected monthly to help with the food pantry or some other program such as buying more bus passes for students. Every penny helps!
I'd love to hear other interventions people may have used to help overcome this challenge. Thanks for raising the issue Victoria!
Regards,
Robert Starks Jr.
Hi Kathy,
We also offer Massage Therapy at our campus and while employment in a privately owned spa in typically inconsistant with regard to hours and pay, we have found that opportunities with some of the corporate players (Massage Luxe, Massage Envy - pay is hourly+) has benefitted our grads immensely. We also pursue employment opportunities with chiropractic offices and sports medicine/rehab settings where the hourly rate is higher due to the provider's ability to bill insurance for their services. Of course this only works if the graduates are open to a wide range of settings.
The most common barriers our students and alumni face relate to insufficient financial support for education. This may take the form of not being able to maintain a vehicle, lack of funds for childcare of lack of money for professional interview attire. The Career Center posts general employment opportunities weekly in the Student Lounge, oversees an on/off campus Federal Work Study Program, coordinates with the campus Student Success Coordinator to provide a Resource Fair twice a year (which contains community vendors that provide assistance with child care, clothing, transportation and other resources)and refers challenged students/alumni to a third party resource provider/counseling service named Student Resource Services.
In order to build this partnership, I am directly contacting my campus Director of Admissions as well as talking with Campus Directors. Their buy in is essential in achieving anything, especially from across the country. Each DOA and CD has their own vision, and I have to make sure that I can tailor my role to that vision in order for them to help me with my goals.
Myhisha,
It sounds like you have identified an opportunity for your institution as well as a feasible strategy to partner with Admissions. What would it take to advocate for what you suggest? Looking at program outcomes is absolutely essential to evaluate mission success.
Robert Starks Jr.
I am not sure which sources the central administration uses. We are a national company, and so I know that they pay particular attention to national averages and requests from local campuses. However, after a program is introduced, I am not sure that the campuses themselves pay attention to which programs get placed and which don't. In order to ensure that this happens in the future, I believe that admissions should partner with career services to see which programs are successfully placed. Each region should be monitoring which programs are working and which aren't in order to bring it to administrators attention earlier, being proactive versus reactive.
Kathy,
This is a common barrier for many who are in non-traditional employment situations (freelance/contract work, self-employment). Massage graduates certainly fit this category more so than do other types of graduates such as computer engineers who have a more defined career path and more opportunities for traditional employment. Non-traditional employment is one of the fastest growing sectors of the labor market known as the "gig economy." In a down economy (structural barrier), it becomes even more difficult to earn sufficient income through non-traditional employment.
Kathy - you may find this podcast interesting and enlightening:
The Gig Economy: Innovation Hub [PODCAST] http://www.careercollegelounge.com/pg/blog/rstarks/read/44459/the-gig-economy-innovation-hub-podcast
Question: If this is a barrier, what are interventions that can help address this barrier to improve student success? I would say this is also a particular challenge for schools who teach art & design programs as these fields also have high levels of non-traditional employment.
Thoughts?
Robert Starks Jr.
Without doing an official survey on the subject, I would say that a common barrier is that many graduates find it hard to find enough steady work that provides sufficient income to meet their financial needs. Many have indicated that they need a steady paycheck and the benefits that go with fulltime positions. In the massage industry, hours can be rather varied and benefits are not consistent or in some cases even available to them.
In general, we try to encourage the students to be as proactive as possible in making an employment plan that explores the various employment options and help them find one that will meet their personal and professional goals. We also promote options for diversifying their job opportunities. It seems to work well if you can have 2-3 work locations and or related jobs (ie. resort, private practice, teaching, other)
