Is there a better way to get talented employees without hiring underqualified college graduates and paying for extensive training to get them up to the required level? There is. Instead of just complaining that today's graduates are underqualified, your company can invest in education. Find a local college or university that offers a major in your company's field and build a relationship with it. This relationship can take many forms, with different levels of involvement(参与)for both the school and the business.
Starting small is a good idea. Call the college, talk to the appropriate department head, and offer your company's assistance. Offering in the school a chance to train students in your company's software or hardware means that there will be more people trained in the use of these products. This adds to your company's market share and potential employee pool, and enhances its public image. Donations may qualify your company for deduction, which can help its bottom line.
This knowledge swap benefits your company and the school. Your company gets graduates trained in areas it chooses and has a place to send current employees for more training. While your company's corporate image improves, the school gains resources that makes it more attractive to prospective students.
Your company will have access(进入)to inexpensive, bright, motivated labor; a chance to recruit the most qualified college graduates; and a chance to influence those who will work in its industry. Students do not forget what they learn during a good internship(实习)experience. And someday they may be in a position to choose, on behalf of an entire company, between your company's product and a competitor's.
The school benefits, too. The promise of good internships is a great way to recruit(招收)students, because internships give the students a chance to apply the skills they have learned in a practical setting. We all know how much better realworld experience looks on a resume than just educational experience.
From both the business and the educational perspective, relationships between corporations and colleges can be mutually(互相)beneficial. If such partnerships grow in the future, the current gap between the number of technology jobs and the qualified pool of talent to fill them may yet be closed.