Graduating from a college or university without experience in one’s degree area or with only internship experience limits a graduate’s employment prospects. In an attempt to address this issue and simultaneously provide businesses with prospective employees interested in specific business sectors, many Connecticut colleges and universities have formed partnerships with businesses.
Additionally, businesses are taking initiative to promote enrollment in manufacturing, electrical, and technical areas where there is a forecasted need. OLR Report 2015-R-0102 identifies some of the collaborations between businesses and Connecticut colleges and universities.
As a guideline, the report identifies partnerships exhibiting the approaches outlined in the Business-Higher Education Forum’s (BHEF’s) 2013 national study; methods “that enable business and higher education to move from transactional approaches to interaction.” The approaches include (1) involving business people in designing and teaching courses with business applications (“introductory course design”), (2) combining classroom instruction and workplace experience (“earlier research internships”) and (3) helping high school students interested in specific career paths make the transition from high school to college and move on to their chosen careers (“bridge programs”).
To learn more, click here to read the full report.
