Short and sweet today, folks, as I know you’re all busy.
We’ve done a lot of research over the years at HESA Towers. We read up on what employers want – and we also do studies that look at how recent graduates fare in the labour market, and what they wish they’d had more of while in university. And pretty much, without exception, regardless of field of study, those two sources agree on what students need to be better-prepared for the labour market.
So, want to give your grads a boost in the labour market? Figure out how to give them those basic business skills. Experiential learning is probably the most effective way to do it, but there are other ways, as well, both inside and outside the classroom.
It’s that simple. Well, not simple at all really. But at least the problem is well-defined.
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I completely agree. As a Junior Achievement volunteer for four years, I was amazed at the transformation of teenagers from gangly, giggly, smartphone-focused entrants to thoughtful individuals who’d learned that business is cool and “corporations” are not the evil entities some media portray. If they participate for all four years of high school, they get exposed to product design, sourcing raw materials, production, marketing, staffing, bookkeeping, management, decision-making, social justice, report-writing, board of director meetings and if all goes well, profits and earnings distribution. Many graduates go on to post-secondary education; others may start businesses of their own, sometimes concurrently! Whether or not they become entrepreneurs, they all come out with an understanding of financial literacy and business management.
How can every student obtain these skills? The Junior Achievement program! (http://jacan.org/programs) It’s free, volunteer-run, and community-based.
The Company Program gives high school students an understanding of “the role of business in our society by creating an enterprise of their own. By collaborating with professional volunteer consultants to design, organize and operate a real business, student’s experience how a small enterprise functions. These new entrepreneurs work within the structure of our Canadian economic system and realize the benefits it provides.”
A study done by the Boston Consulting Group, “Making an Impact, Assessing Junior Achievement of Canada’s Value Creation,” determined that not only do JA’s student participants receive Financial Literacy, Work Readiness, and Entrepreneurship abilities, but that society in turn benefits from their knowledge.
EVERYONE should enter the labour market already equipped with an understanding, as well as basic direct experience of financial, business management and entrepreneurial skills. In fact, I believe the JA program should be part of the required high school curriculum, just like the Civics, Career Studies and the 40-hour Community Involvement/Volunteer requirements.
That’s very interesting. I guess your research focus would be on Canada, but do think the situation is similar in the UK?
I should have added that ideally, numeracy and basic business skills should be provided to secondary students, who can then incorporate that real world knowledge into the higher level critical thinking and concepts they take in from their post secondary studies. I do not think it is feasible to make business basics a prerequisite post secondary course when there are so many available pathways in higher learning.