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Employer Quotes
The quotes below are from employers in this industry: Information Technology (IT)
They are talking about this topic: Educational Partnerships
The quotes below are about this issue:
Industry leaders point to the importance of creating K-12 partnerships in order to educate children about technology and IT-related careers.
| "We're using Genesis Works as our high school entre into the network. But we still have a lot of work to get the new college grads in. Then, how do we prepare them for the other jobs as they move around the IT world?" | Metro |
| "I think there's a need for internships and apprenticeships in high-tech areas and in scientific areas because the kids don't have a clue, from the high school level or even younger. That's the job-shadow type of thing. If you bring them in earlier, if you do marketing towards driving these students to understand these programs, they will understand why they need math. If it's taught in a poor way for a short time they're going to drop it. That's what I see with my own kids. They need to understand why they need it now. Because they can go to the internet and they can find out whatever they want. They don't need to have all of the teaching unless they really, really feel like there's something that drives them to it. So, what we have to do is educate them to drive themselves to want to do these things." | Metro |
| "I think it's a critical foundation. I think learning programming is a lot like learning a language. You start them young, and they're just that much more able to move and change as they get older. I think that's critical. I liked the comment that the other employer made about the manual, you can't print a manual in this industry because things change so quickly. So, if you don't have that ability at a young age—we need to teach the kids that, 'Hey, you can make changes. You can adjust.'" | Northeast |
| "I think it speaks to a bigger issue, and that's how are we integrating into the—not higher education per se—but the lower education, the K-12? Frankly, I think that's a real issue that we're falling down on. I believe what we need is more kids at the universities that are already into that." | Northeast |
| "I think we're in Two Harbors. I think everybody's heard about the fiber optic project that's going forward. And I know the school board is going to be approving smart pads for all the students. I think that kind of starts moving kids away from textbooks and more towards technology. And the jury's out on that—is that a positive thing or not? The strategy is to go into the K-12—even if that means that we are officially endorsed by the school district—but not necessarily part of the actual formal education they offer. And I think it's up to us as an industry to really start looking at, 'Why are we failing?' I don't think this is unique in Minnesota, unfortunately. I'll say that 'failing' is a strong word, but I think we're failing as a nation in prepping our kids for these things at an early age, and I think that's going to impact our supply chain. I hate to make it sound like these kids are assets, but this is where the world is moving and we need to lead in this area. And Minnesota used to be a leader in innovation. Used to be are the key words there. We better get serious about our K-12. So, our strategy is to really pour our own hearts and our own money into that." | Northeast |
| "We developed a cadet program for some schools, where students can participate and do computer-based troubleshooting and assist our engineers with work. And, through that program, we've actually hired two kids straight out of high school who have shown that they have the ability to thrive in these situations. We still encourage them to go and get their degrees at night. But, again, if you start teaching that at a young age, you can identify right away that these individuals are able to play in this arena. And that's not to say that higher education is not a benefit, because it absolutely is. Because, if nothing else, it helps mature these individuals and gets them ready to interface with people. But as far as identifying the skill sets that make them good at their job, that can be taught very, very early on." | Northeast |
| "Raw technical talent. How do you foster that in K-12? What are the good ways that you would nurture that? Because you talked about the private [lost in translation] in K-12. I mean, it's a STEM education. You know, the science, technology, engineering, and math. I don't know how to foster it. Then, it comes down to parents and teachers getting enthusiastic about that. That's a little less tangible." | Northeast |
| "Well, we sponsor the robotics team and we have done that for a number of years. At least one of our guys works with the kids on that team, and I know at least one of our other guys is working with the elementary level. And we donate some equipment along the line. But I think there is—unless someone came out with a packaged computer science curriculum—I can't imagine a lot of teachers being able to just jump into it because it's moving so fast. It's not like a science where it's based on the way things are. Computers are changing as fast as we can go, so you just kind of have to pick a slice and teach that." | Northeast |
| "Well, actually, I need to take this information back. Because we do high school counseling. So, we're actually in programs in that you do the career counseling in the schools right now, and so obviously there's information on what's available when these people get out." | Northwest |