Enterprise Article - Education and Technology in Business



		Education and Technology in Business Internships Benefit Both Business and Students Stephen Zani Pacific NW Technology Group		Back to Feature Articles Home
		As a company that supplies technology services to the business community at large, Pacific Northwest Technology Group (PNWTG) understands the business/technology/education relationship. Technology can offer significant competitive advantages to a business. But because of its quickly evolving and changing nature, technology also requires a steady infusion of learning, whether it is formal education, on-the-job training or a combination of both. How does a business take advantage of education to improve its technology? By using education to improve its technical workforce. In one approach, education is supplied first, and the business looks for the technologist with the right education to match the position. Executive positions (CIO, VPIT, etc) will typically require six - eight years of post secondary schooling. Many technical positions require engineering degrees. Technical staff is trained on particular equipment and software prior to their moving to a position supporting or using it within the business. The other approach is to supply education in an ongoing fashion. On-the-job training is an example of this approach. The technical staff receives regular training related to the products they work with or support within the business or end users receive training on a piece of software specific to their job functions (word processing for example). One form of on-the-job training that PNWTG has found highly effective is through the work-study/internship programs offered by local secondary and post secondary schools. Chemeketa Community College’s (CCC) “Cooperative Work Experience” program is a good case in point. Under the CCC “Cooperative Work Experience” program, businesses employ students from CCC’s technical degree programs part-time for a set period of time while the student is still attending classes. The business receives economical help from an educated employee who also has the potential of becoming an already “screened” and trained full-time employee, while the student gains invaluable experience in his/her chosen profession. This method of combining education, technology and business provides advantages for all parties involved. The student: • Develops relevant business and technical experience within a structured format • Receives a paycheck for his/her efforts • Has the ability to adjust his/her technical on-going education to match current market requirements • Upon graduation, the student may have a full-time position waiting for him. At a minimum, he/she should have a good set of references and on-the-job experience to offer potential employers at the start of their technical careers • Receives formal feedback and school credit for his/her employment activity The business: • Has access to a quality employee • Gets to train the student in the unique technology specifics required for the position or their business • Pays entry level or no wages for skilled/educated labor • Has access to a pool of potential full-time, degreed and trained employees after graduation • Supports both the school and community at large The school: • Benefits from the support of the business community • Achieves a higher percentage of students accepting jobs directly after graduation, improving their enrollment statistics and prestige within the collegiate community (which improves enrollment) • Gets an opportunity to evaluate/adjust their curriculum based on feedback from the employers Programs similar to CCC’s “Cooperative Work Experience” vary from school to school and may also be referred to as internships. They may or may not involve pay for the student employee and they may be available only during summer vacation or post-graduation. Although this article focuses on technology education, work-study programs are available to businesses of other disciplines as well, for example accounting. Below is contact information for the workstudy/internship programs of some local post secondary schools. By whatever name used, workstudy/internship/cooperative work experience programs are a win/win for local businesses and the community as a whole. Major corporations have recognized this and been investing in these workstudy/internship/cooperative work experience programs for years. In the final analysis, all businesses, large and small, would be well advised to consider them when adding to their employee rolls. Contacts for Intern Programs: *Atkinson Graduate School of Mgmt.* Career Services 503.370.5309 www.willamette.edu/agsm/careers *Chemeketa Community College* Cooperative Work Experience 503.399.5029 www.chemeketa.edu *Corban* Internship Program 503.375.7012 www.corban.edu *George Fox University* Internships & Recruiter Relations 503.554.2331 www.careers.georgefox.edu *Marylhurst University* Internships and Career Services 503.699.6271 www.marylhurst.edu/student/career *Portland State University* Career Center 503.725.4316 www.career.pdx.edu *Western Oregon University* Career Center 503.838.8432 www.careercenterjobs.org