Local postsecondary institutions are implementing platforms “revolutionizing” the ability to connect Owensboro companies directly with students — with end goals such as helping keep talented workers here long-term and help bring innovative ideas to the workforce.
A pair of platforms are streamlining the efforts to allow businesses to post job openings — including full-time, part-time, and internships — directly to the school’s web-based platform for students to access.
Previously, companies had to send job openings to a schools career center, which in turn emailed students. Now, there is no middle man.
“It’s revolutionizing the way we connect with students because it’s available on their time,” said Morgan Russelburg, Director of Career Services at Brescia University.
(Connect with Brescia and KWC students and graduates via Handshake. Connect with OCTC students and graduates via Purple Briefcase.)
Brescia and Kentucky Wesleyan College both use the platform called “Handshake” (which works much like Indeed), and Jones called it a “super recruiter.”
Students can be active in their searches by seeking out specific jobs or companies.
On the flip side, companies can seek out students with specific skills and contact them directly if they meet those qualifications.
Owensboro Community & Technical College uses a slightly different platform called “Purple Briefcase” which offers similar services but is more tailored to the needs of their students.
Helen Bennett, OCTC Experiential Learning Center Center Coordinator, said they manage a “significant number” of high school students and those in their first two years of postsecondary education.
Bennett said the needs of those students is often more on the side of mentorships or job shadowing rather than full- or part-time positions. Through their platform, companies can have employees volunteer to be mentors — even if that means something as simple as joining a 20-minute virtual session to share real-world experiences.
“Through those experiences and those changes, students can validate a career path that they may be on, or they may be exposed to something they’ve never considered for themselves because business is a very broad area of study,” Bennett said.
Deborah Jones, Director of Career Development at Kentucky Wesleyan College, said students are being prepared from the moment they begin their higher education experience to enter the workforce as part of a high-quality talent pool ready to add value to organizations in Owensboro.
“The institution itself and the programs and the majors and the academic opportunities are the first way our students are really getting prepared,” she said. “Part of that is the internships and the shadowing opportunities. We need to continue to build on those things, but those are going to give them the real-world experience to come into your organizations much better prepared.”
All three school representatives said they are relying on local businesses to join the collaborative effort to not just prepare students for the workforce but also retain them.
“These experiences are so critical to our students being well-prepared for the workplace,” Bennett said. “It provides a more confident student. It contributes to their overall success on their career journey.”
Russelburg added, “We want our students to leave confident in their abilities, confident that they can network with professionals, that they can walk into a business and feel good about what they’re doing and the skills that they have.”
Tuesday’s virtual webinar was hosted by Hannah Thurman of the Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce. The full webinar can be viewed on the Chamber’s YouTube channel.
