Kress, Partridge Talk with Washington Business Journal About How NOVA Is Meeting Employer Needs
Yesterday, Washington Business Journal Reporter Hannah Denham published an article citing key efforts NOVA is taking to help students find employment: Three ways NOVA is connecting employers with its 80,000 students — and what more still needs to be done.
Denham’s article provides context and a roadmap to success, following the Business Journal’s December Playbook article, Businesses need workers and community colleges want to help — but there’s often a disconnect.
Yesterday’s article highlights three major things that help make NOVA the top supplier of talent in the Northern Virginia region: the Business Engagement Center, the Guaranteed Interview Program and curriculum advisory boards.
As President Kress noted to Denham, “We’re looking for a real relationship, not a transactional effort” with industry and employer partners.
NOVA’s industry and employer partners volunteer their time and share information about their workforce needs through curriculum advisory boards (more than 200 people represent 145 companies on 38 advisory boards). That helps NOVA shape our credit and non-credit programs, and in turn, we give our students the skills employers need and prepare them to be successful in the workplace.
Then it all comes full circle. Thanks to the close coordination between NOVA and local employers, our students are a good match for employers and NOVA directly connects employers with graduates through the Business Engagement Center (BEC) and Guaranteed Interview Program.
As Steve Partridge noted, before the BEC, “There really wasn’t a front door for the business community to NOVA. We needed a big welcome sign out.” Today, the BEC is a one-stop-shop for employers looking to connect with NOVA.
We all know that NOVA’s workforce development efforts are top-notch and we’re thrilled that the Washington Business Journal highlighted NOVA’s efforts to connect students and regional employers. The efforts of our Career Services team (including Dana Fallon and Lucy Williams), the Academic Affairs team and all faculty and staff who serve on curriculum advisory boards and teach our students valuable skills – those efforts are truly amazing.
Submitted by:
Dawn Selak, Director of Communications, DSelak@nvcc.edu