The MATEC NetWorks free webinar, Industry Expectations for Graduates just finished about an hour ago.  It was an excellent webinar and some great chat conversations and questions.  I think one thing that was a surprise to many that were on was the fact that industry, no matter if high-tec or not, wants soft skills to be taught.  They don’t want to teach them to their employees.  How can teachers bring in the soft skills, like safety, into their classrooms.  One faculty member mentioned that in their labs they have a safety component.  I know from experience though that there may be a safety section in the labs – but how many students realize that the teacher is giving them job training?  As one of the presenters said, sometimes you need to have an industry person come in and say the exact same thing that the instructor has been saying to have the students actually hear the message.  If the students can hear how the saftey they are learning is something they will need for their job, then they can relate to it outside the classroom.  Or, having an industry person come in and talk about safety in the work place is exactly the same as safety in the lab.  If the students can demonstrate knowledge of safety, then that will put them above other applicants who don’t.

There were some other great questions about student internships as well as faculty externships and how valuable those are.  Student internships are not just summer jobs, they are a three month job appilication (again, from the webinar). What was the industry’s oppinion on life’s experiences being used on a resume, or joining a professional orgainization when in school, or a graduate who has no job experience.  These were discussed in the webinar.

 

If you were there, what are some of your comments about the webinar?   Or, if you missed it or would like to show this webinar to your class, you may find the recording at MATEC NetWorks digital library (just click the link).

Mark Viquesney