Investing in Your Future

Hold on... I've got to take this...It's probably another offer

Internships, cooperative education, job shadowing, and apprenticeships have long been an essential part of an organization's overall recruiting strategy.  The benefits to both the company and the future employee are substantial. Likewise, many organizations promoting either employee development or investing in employee retention offer tuition reimbursement for accredited college course work. 

And wouldn't you feel like you sort of owed your employer a couple of years of service if they paid for your education?  Call it servitude if you like, but it does work as both a development and retention tool.

However, many organizations now feel it is too late to wait until college to engage with the next generation of talent?  Why?  Well, when you consider that within the next four years we'll be facing a shortage of  10 million skilled workers, you begin to see why engineering, technology and medical sectors are looking "down market." 

Microsoft has a site called The Spoke - think mySpace for techno-teens.  theSpoke is an online community for students around the world to discuss, use, and share ideas on technology.  Wonder what Microsoft does with all that registered user data and all the names of their Imagine Cup competition winners?  What is the Imagine Cup, you ask. 

The Imagine Cup is the world’s largest and most inclusive student technology competition.  The competition is sponsored by Microsoft and is designed to provide students with challenging, fun, real world technology experiences.

(And, if we are the only company who knows who the best coding kids in the world are, well waddaya gonna do.) OK, this was and editorial insert.

Its not just technology companies either.  Disney has added an undergraduate page to its Disney College pages.  And the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation has developed the ProStart Program which exists to encourage high school students to consider careers in the restaurant and food sevice industry.

What's next?