Women Need Proof
It’s surprising to see that many exceptional STEM programs offered by two-year colleges lack a crucial piece of information for prospective students – a job placement rate. Community college students, with an average age of 27, enroll in these programs to improve their economic situation and support their families. However, with no way to know their return on investment, they are much less likely to enroll. Women Need Proof.
This is particularly concerning for women who may question their chances of getting hired in industries that are known to be unfriendly to women, such as manufacturing, cybersecurity, construction, and automotive.
This presents a critical challenge for many STEM programs– job placement rate is a crucial piece of information for students, but many STEM programs don’t have the resources to track and publish rock-solid data they can feel secure about stating publicly. (It’s such crucial information that it must be accurate.)
My WomenTech Training & Coaching Program has multiple solutions to this challenge. I assist schools in finding solutions when they don’t have a job placement rate. I’ve worked with schools that have used the following methods:
___________________________________________________________________
𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗮𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗻𝗼 𝗷𝗼𝗯 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲
(𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗮 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗱𝗼𝗰𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝟭𝟬𝟬% 𝗷𝗼𝗯 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲!)
1. Companies that have hired our grads include X, Y & Z.
2. We get calls weekly from companies looking to hire entry-level X technicians (only if true).
3. Female Role ModelX graduated and went to work for CompanyX which starts its carpenters at X$ per hour (social proof).
4. Testimonial from a local employer that have hired women in Career Pathway X and want to hire more (social proof).
If you were a student, would you want to invest your time and money in a program that couldn’t provide you with evidence that you’ll find a job when you graduate? Unlikely. That means your STEM program is missing out on many enrollments you’d otherwise get. You can solve this challenge for your program, and reassure prospective students, with the easy strategies above. Make sure this information is on your website and in your outreach materials.
Source: https://www.linkedin.com/company/institute-for-women-in-trades-technology-and-science-iwitts-/
https://www.techedmagazine.com/category/news-by-industry/stem/