As Coorous Mohtadi, a senior member of the MathWorks technical specialist team, has put it,
‘If companies continue to support and engage education, they will become essential, trusted partners for government and civil society.’
There are numerous reasons why businesses should engage with the education sector:
- To fill in the skills gap;
- To ensure hands-on experience for students;
- To provide continuing education for employees;
- To attract more employees;
- To make a positive impact on children wishing to pursue careers in the given industry;
After all, there are numerous problems on the market currently. People see their skills meaning less and less with time, or they feel like they don’t match all the requirements of their employees. Children wonder what it might be like to work in each field. Students find it hard to land a job because it requires experience, and they have none due to still being students. All of those can be quite helped by businesses engaging with education. But, to make sure we understand this well, let’s start from the beginning.
What is a skills gap and how to fill it?
A skills gap is a ‘difference (or gap) between the skills that an employer needs and the skills that their workforce (or a specific employee) currently has’ According to the 2023 Wiley Report, ‘Closing the Skills Gap’,
l 69% of the Human Resources specialists reported there is likely a skill gap in their organization.
l 50% of the interviewed professionals stated that the hard skills in their respective industries are likely to be competitive for merely a couple of years.
One of the ways to fill in the skills gap is through continuing education. Thus, the business sector can reap plenty of benefits if it chooses to engage with the education sector. As we’ve seen, there are many ways in which business and education intersect. For instance, there are research writing companies that provide top-notch essays from experienced professional writers in return for a fee. They present a service – helping with the essays – and don’t charge too much for it. Thus, they work right on the line dividing business and education.
But whether your business is an educational business, or not, it can certainly be helped through interacting with platforms, companies, etc. that provide continuation of learning well beyond school and college. Such can teach employees hard or soft skills with the latter being increasingly important in the current competitive workforce. You can ensure you have qualified and knowledgeable employees who will also feel more appreciated if they are supplied with the skills they need.
Make your employees feel appreciated
If you merely state to your employees ‘You’d need to know this-and-this software program and better your communication abilities’, do you think they’d feel like they are fully capable of continuing in your company? Rather, they might feel like you demand too much of them and switch positions or even companies. But if you provide them with the tools, they need to better themselves and make themselves competitive, you’d show them you care about them and their place in your company. So, they’d feel much more appreciated and will be more likely to remain with you as their employer.
How does interaction of business and education help children?
But being engaged with the education sector helps not only your business. It’s also of aid to children who are still at school. By offering them a chance to get a hands-on experience you are making sure they can see the practical side of their education. You are also helping them choose their future career path and see what skills and abilities they will need to do so.
Following Timesofisrael, interacting with the educational sector helps ensure future well-rounded professionals who are prepared to meet the demands of different industries. You’d also help children feel motivated and inspired to make their steps towards their respective business fields.
If your business allows for it, you can offer internships, summer practice, or other workplace activities to teenagers who are still at school. Or you can offer such to college students who are at different moments of their studies. The latter can offer you one more benefit – there is a huge possibility that if they like working with your company, they’d apply to join it after they graduate.
Attract more employees
Last, but not least, if you offer options for educational experience for employees at your business, you’d be more likely to attract more candidates for positions at your company. After all, many of the professionals know that current knowledge and abilities are likely to not be so competitive after a couple of years. Thus, they understand that continuing education is a priority if they wish to advance in their careers. If you ensure such, they’d be more likely to come to work for you. They’d realize they have numerous benefits at your company and will be happy and content being in your company which cares about its employees.
Conclusion
So, we saw that there are several main aspects of the ‘why’ behind interacting with the educational sector. You’d be able to provide your business with many competitive advantages and, at the same time, help shape the paths of children, teenagers, and students. They might still be in school or college but your interaction with them might provide them with the passion and inspiration to work in your industry.
You can also help bridge the skills gap and offer continuous education in both hard and soft skills for your employees. This will result directly in better efficiency, more professional work, less turnover at your company, and much greater satisfaction of your workers. All of those are positive characteristics of your company.
If you are considering growing your business, you’d also be able to attract more candidates for positions at your company. Benefits such as the opportunity to continue to grow knowledge-wise, skills-wise, and as pertains to position, education, and abilities will certainly make your company competitive among the worker’s community.
Leave a Comment