Dr. Philip Gardner gave a presentation on the college labor market and workforce readiness. He discussed trends over the past 3 years, noting strong growth in 2011-2012 but a more cautious outlook in 2012-2013 with only moderate hiring increases expected. He highlighted in-demand fields and obstacles employers face in hiring. Gardner also reviewed employers' perspectives on needed skills like problem-solving, communication, and managing priorities. Research from Boise State examined critical competencies and attitudes desired by employers.

1. Dr. Philip Gardner
Collegiate Employment
Research Institute
ceri.msu.edu

2. Today’s Agenda
• Overview of the College Labor Market
– Snapshot of past three years
– Focus on this year
• The transition into the workplace
– All about skills
• The gatekeeper: internships
• Workforce readiness project for the BV

3. It’s was a very good year – except still not enough jobs
A REVIEW OF YEARS PAST

4. • Strong group of
outliers: big &
small
• No tail:
clustered
around no
change
• All majors in
play
• Tech fields slow;
marketing &
Highlights from sales
2010-2011 • West lagged
behind

5. • Broad and
deep
• All Majors:
major
influence
• Sectors:
Government
down and
manufacturing
Highlights from sliding
2011-2012 • Size: David
and Goliath

6. SETTING THE STAGE FOR 2012-2013

7. Macro & Micro Events
• Big Events
– European slide
– China: internal adjustments
– Energy: US back in the game
– Inflation
• Fiscal Cliff
• Micro events
– Jobs
– Consumers
– Supply: too many

9. THE YEAR 2012-2013

10. Sitting On the Fence
• Winners • Losers
– Hospitals – Big Banks
– Health care – Coal
– Construction: Home – Big Energy
– Construction: – Defense contractors
Infrastructure – Luxury Goods Retailers
– Alternative energy – Casinos

12. Obstacles in Reaching Hiring Targets
– Budgets and staffs
– No short term plans &
lack of support from the top
– Competition
– Students
• You have met Emmie!
– Career Services

13. N-S-E-W
• Direction hiring is expected to take
– Big shift from last year
– Employer outlook continues to improve
– My grass is greener than your grass!
– Only 24% with definite plans (last year 42%)
– 45% will increase the number of Bachelor
hires this year – stays about the same

14. Hiring Targets: 2012-2013
Projections for 2012 -2013
Number Of Average Average Change
Degree Employers Number Of Number Of Year Over Year
Reporting Hires Hires (%)
(2012) (2013)
Associate’s 667 7.6 10.2 31
Bachelor’s 1,931 22.2 23.3 5
MBA 517 5.8 5.1 -6
MS/MA 716 10.3 10.2 -1
Ph.D. 238 4.6 5.0 8
Professional 168 15.5 14.7 -4
Total Hires 2,057 33.4 34.4 3

15. Good News: In Certain Places
• Organizational Size
– Thanks for the little guy
– Middle holds
– Large companies sitting on the fence
• Economic Sector
– Leading the charge: Oil, Financial Services,
Wholesale, Construction, Retail, Transportation
– Falling behind: Utilities, Ag (short-term),
Information Services, Manufacturing, Health

16. Majors
• Soft:
– Engineering: electronics, fabricated metals,
military segments
– Accounting: CPA firms decrease
– Computer Science: market reality
• Strong: Finance, Marketing, Supply Chain, HR,
Adv-PR-Communication (sales)
• Keeps rockin’: All majors

17. Mark Zandi’s Job Growth Projections
Education & Health
Services
Leisure & Hospitality
27% 24%
Financial Services
Retail & Wholesale
Construction
11% 17%
Other
8%
6% 7%
Professional &
Business Services

18. Starting Salaries
• What’s not in your wallet?
– Not much: 75% not increasing salary
– 5% indicated they are offering
signing bonuses
– Nearly 20% have some type of
performance bonus
– Slight rise in commission based
salaries
– Health care coverage in lieu of $$$$

19. Key Recruiting Strategies
• Internships
• Career Fairs
– Mostly for finding interns
• Alumni from target schools (Bronco
network)
• Social media

20. Internships
• Primary purpose
– Full-time employment
• Golden Goose still laying eggs
– 65% seeking internships
– 17% seeking co-ops
– 33% offering summer positions with pay
• Unpaid situation
– Many with unpaid are motivated to help
profession or social responsibility

21. Handling the skills shortage
• Training
• Technology (the next tragedy)
• Recruiting (the new time dimension)

22. Critical Issues
• Faculty
• Skills
• Attitudes and Behaviors

23. Employers’ Takes on Academia
Academic professors do not understand the critical
business skills needed and provide poor
counseling/advice to students.
…many new grads are having difficulty
articulating the relevance of their study to the job
they have applied to.

24. Employers’ Takes on the Skills Gap
We need people who know how to
use Excel and other professional programs,
write professional documents,
communicate in a professional manner,
and have a basic knowledge of
how a professional organization acts

25. Employers’ Takes on Attitude
There is an overinflated sense of self and abilities…
College students have an attitude of entitlement that they
are owed a job, and it should be at a specific dollar
amount, even though they do not have a basis for that
dollar amount.
Many candidates don’t project that they are
interested, optimistic, and want to help the company
succeed.
[We have] retention issues because candidates resign due
to business challenges being more than they expected or
are willing to try to accomplish.

26. The Transition 1950 to 1989
• No experience necessary
• Tenure in 1st position: 4 to
5 years
• Companies did most of
the training
• 65% of college hires with
Fortune 500
• Legacy system for
recruiting and
accountability

27. The Transition Since Early 1990s
• Experienced required
• Tenure in first position 12 to
24 months
• Most organizations provide
little or no training
• Skills & expectations have
soared (employers)
• 35% to 40% of college grads
hired by Fortune 500
• Still rely on legacy practices
and accountability
measures

28. Benchmark: 12 Essentials
• Developing  Working in a Diverse
professional Environment
competencies  Managing time and
• Communicating priorities
effectively  Navigating across
• Solving Problems boundaries
• Balancing Work and life  Acquiring knowledge
• Embracing Change  Thinking Critically
• Working Effectively in a  Performing with
Team integrity
www.careernetwork.msu.edu
(click on resource guides)

29. The Higher Standards
◦ Initiative: The Holy Grail
◦ Build and sustain professional relationships
◦ Analyze, evaluate and interpret data
◦ Engage in continuous learning
◦ Communicate through persuasion and justification
◦ Plan and manage a project
◦ Create new knowledge
◦ Seek global understanding
◦ Mentor and develop others
◦ Build a team
 Paper is available at www.ceri.msu.edu (check under paper
archives)

30. Case study: Boise – Top Skill Cluster
• Able to perform with integrity
• Able to solve problems
• Able to manage time and priorities
• Able to take the initiative
• Able to analyze, evaluate, and interpret
information
• Able to contribute to a team
• Able to effectively communicate orally
• Able to build and sustain working
professional relationships

31. Case study: Boise – 2nd Cluster
• Able to embrace change.
• Able to acquire knowledge
• Able to manage and synthesize different sources
of information.
• Able to effectively communicate through writing
• Able to create original ideas and innovations (be
innovative).
• Able to plan and manage a project
• Able to develop further professional
competencies.

32. Case study: Boise – Top A&B
• Takes responsibility and is accountable for
work and behavior (accountable)
• Demonstrates a strong work ethic (work
ethic)
• Displays sound judgment and controls
feelings/emotions in work situations
(maturity)

33. Case Study: Attitudes & Behaviors II
• Works with limited direction (self-directed)
• Cooperates with co-workers in a
respectful, sincere manner (humility)
• Conveys passion for work and career
(passion)
• Functions effectively in an ever changing
environment (adaptable)
• Completes assignments and other
commitments punctually (punctual)

34. WORKFORCE READINESS PROJECT

35. Phase II & III
• Phase II: BSU Alumni
– Career Progress
– Skills & Competencies for Success
– Preparedness
• Phase III: BSU Current Students
– Career Aspirations
– Employer Expectations: Skills & Competencies

36. Preliminary Results: Phase II
• Top Skills: 1st Position • Top Skills: Current Position
– Able to manage time and – Able to manage time and
priorities priorities
– Able to perform with – Able to take the initiative
integrity. – Able to effectively
– Able to effectively communicate orally
communicate orally
– Able to solve problems
– Able to solve problems.
– Able to think critically. – Able to think critically
– Able to acquire knowledge – Able to acquire knowledge
– Able to take the initiative – Able to perform with
– Able to integrity
analyze, evaluate, and – Able to
interpret information analyze, evaluate, and
interpret information

37. Time to share
QUESTIONS & THOUGHTS

38. ceri.msu.edu