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Employer Quotes
The quotes below are from employers in this industry: Engineering
They are talking about this topic: Educational Partnerships
The quotes below are about this issue:
Many employers say they have attempted to connect to universities to recruit graduates, but not all have been successful in creating ongoing relationships with the schools. Those who have been able to connect with local colleges in a meaningful way typically have a large pool of candidates from which to choose (although mechanical, electrical, and mid-level openings remain challenging to fill). One employer suggested connecting with higher education by reaching out to alumni.
| "The other thing that might change is some of the data where it shows that there's going to be decrease in those engineers, and businesses are saying, 'No, we don't see that decrease.' That data may dissuade young people from going into those careers if they think, 'Well, by the time I get out they're not going to be hiring.' So, how do we balance that data with reality in some of the areas?" | Central |
| "I think just what you're doing now—getting these focus groups together—is helpful. Education needs to be talking to businesses. And we need to be able to talk to the students to let them know what kind of people we look for and what kinds of skills they'll need so that there's a better understanding between all these pieces. We can all work on this together as opposed to separately." | Central |
| "We've been posting at various two-year degree schools to get the word out." | Metro |
| "And I think you would get some of the information that you want from those alumni—about what skills they are using and being asked to develop. If you can get them to respond, they might be a candidate source for some of the employers as well." | Metro |
| "I think the other employer brings up a really good point in terms of alumni. I know we're talking a lot about new grads, but if any of your schools have alumni programs, we'd love to tap into that as well." | Metro |
| "We generally have a pretty good pool of chemical engineers. I think, again, it's because of the affiliations that we have." | Metro |
| "I think at least for entry-level civil engineers, we have had a large candidate pool. We'll get one hundred or two hundred resumes for an entry-level general civil position. Part of that is also our affiliation, I think, with the university and a lot of our college recruiting. But we do enjoy a pretty good candidate pool." | Metro |
| "Employer 1: I think that's key—to get that connection back with those people who are coming back. Really seeking out people who want to come back to the Iron Range. We've got to keep on doing that. We need to tell them about the places or about the facilities. Employer 2: What recruiting tools do the schools have? I know in South Dakota, the school system does a ton of recruiting to get people to move back to South Dakota. They're always asking us what openings we have. They not only have a website, but they also do a class. Once these people make contact with them, they are constantly sending information out saying, 'Come back to South Dakota.' Is that something that our schools do? Employer 3: I don't think the schools in South Dakota are doing any of that. I think it's the state government doing it. Employer 2: But they get the data from the schools. Employer 3: Yeah. There is some of that going on." |
Northeast |
| "There are a lot of schools that have mechanical programs, but to find the electricals in the numbers that we need is tough. At our company, we recruit at 20 universities across the country, and [non-MnSCU college] is our number one school. And not all those students, who we hire, are staying in northern Minnesota." | Northeast |
| "There are 20 universities across the country we recruit at. If we were to put all of our eggs in one basket on the Iron Range—there's just not enough engineers being developed here for us, so we have to go outside." | Northeast |
| "Graduates do require a bit of recruiting at some of the four-year colleges. We've hired quite a few recent graduates because we've not been able to get those experienced-type of engineers that we're looking for. So, we're thinking, 'Well, we need to invest in hiring the younger ones.' And on-the-job training has worked fairly well for us." | Northwest |
| "It is the relationship with the instructors that they're talking about. Getting us into their classes. And I agree that this needs to happen not just at the college level, but earlier, too." | Northwest |
| "We try to develop relationships with the schools, and we try to get to know more of the curriculum. The challenge is knowing which colleges we should tap into when we have specific needs—which one specializes in that area, that sort of thing." | Northwest |
| "We haven't had an institution create a program specifically for us, not that I can think of. I know that locally, here at the tech school, they're always in tune with getting programs. And this is not related to engineering, but more specific to manufacturing skills. It's kind of a fast-track program that can help feed people into those manufacturing jobs." | Northwest |
| "I think it takes a lot of time and resources to get involved in college activities. And a lot of companies maybe don't generally have the money to put towards that. Our company is fortunate that it does. It's a big company, and we have people at all the campuses. We have an ambassador here. They come and visit the different clubs three or four times a year, and they buy them pizza. They get to know these kids at the job fairs and the career fairs. So, there's a lot of work that goes into it prior to them graduating. And that's how you hire the best people. No doubt in my mind." | Southwest |
| "This is a two-way street. I would suggest that you be proactive rather than reactive. Because I watch a lot of companies work very well with campus. Whether it be involvement in student clubs, advisory committees, faculty-student projects, or speaking to classes, or lecturing. I have watched a number of companies do an exceptional job of landing students because they have been very close to the process. They've also been able to maybe customize or add to the programs a little bit. I think there's an old saying, 'There's value embedded in the university, it's just that the external world doesn't know how to access it.' And that's our job—to try to help connect with that—and I think being proactive today goes a long way. Again, I've watched a couple companies just land some of the best and brightest candidates because they were very close to the program. They're into internships very heavily and now co-ops that we've started here. I just think that you have an opportunity to influence the way the class goes. So, I would suggest being proactive rather than reactive." | Southwest |
| "We probably only hired about ten percent of our engineers from Minnesota. There are six people that work as recruiters. But we also have ambassadors on a lot of the campuses—we have one here in Mankato." | Southwest |