3 Essential Ways Corporate Training Can Benefit Higher Education

3 Essential Ways Corporate Training Can Benefit Higher Education
Summary: Corporate-academia merger or tie-ups can be a mutualistic association. Corporate training can benefit higher education by increasing revenue, providing support for other institutional activities, and ensuring 100 % placements. Organizations, in turn, can reap the benefits in terms of smooth onboarding, less expenditure, and job-ready employees.

How Corporate Training Can Benefit Higher Education  

Sarah, a final year student of Engineering was excited: In 2 months’ time, she would be a part of the big-big corporate world. But she was also scared: “Will I be able to perform?” At the end of her first day, she realized that 50% of what she has been hired to do is unfamiliar. “This is like sauntering into an unknown territory”.

Sarah is not alone. She is a part of the population that is forecasted to more than double to 262 million by 2025. The number of students around the globe enrolled in higher education is steadily rising- with more than half in China and India alone. Here’s the other side of the story. According to the 2012 Allied Workforce Mobility Survey, for a new employee to become fully productive, it takes eight months on average! In the U.S, on an average companies spend $5,380 on training per new hire.

How do you bridge the gap?

Are there ways in which corporate training can benefit higher education? 

How can fresh hires be productive, industry-smart, and self-motivated on the first day itself?

According to MASIE, higher education and corporate learning are ideal candidates for ongoing collaboration. Yet these two worlds are almost 99 percent disconnected.

Here’s a fresh perspective. This is an era of information-increasing aggressively and learning- replacing prior knowledge. New industrial processes, design, and latest technology often elude students. Corporates can function as an adjunct to make new technology and advances available to tertiary education thereby creating a workforce that is "updated".

Traditionally, internships, practical training, and orientation sessions functioned to precisely serve this purpose. They are relevant even today-more so in a digital way. How?

Conventional training solutions as stand-alone or one-off opportunities do not suffice the needs of gen next. It should be on loop. Constant connect between academia and businesses is imperative. Again, how?

Think of your Learning Management System. And here are 3 ways in which your Learning Management System can facilitate a successful industry-academia partnership.

1. Learning Management System Interfaces 

Why don’t we build a connection between the college and the corporate Learning Management System? This is not strange!

This can ease employability, recruitment, and learning. A MNC is looking for fresh recruits from higher education institutes globally. With permission-based interface, the company can provide access to training material, group activities and assessments for college students through the institute Learning Management System for evaluating prospective recruits.

Why not go further to allow the company to view a student’s performance record for all the semesters? With a complete background on courses taken and performance assessed, a company can easily identify the right fit for any new project requirements.

2. Repeated Learning

John is taking a course on data management. However, he has to miss an interactive session on Big Data by an industry expert. Is this problem? 

With a Learning Management System in place this does not have to be one. John can easily access the session in the Learning Management System, give the assessment and rate his performance. Easy, right? Refresher and reinforcement modules, which drive the point home and assist in repeated learning, are very helpful for the staff and students.

2. Social Collaboration

Business organizations are rapidly deploying video chat, online collaboration, video conferencing, etc. for their global and distributed teams. This social collaboration can be extended to colleges and universities for several reasons. Alumni and corporates can collaborate online with students for discussions, knowledge-transfer, and career opportunities. This can enable mentorship, guidance, and industry insights.

Gwen is preparing for an upcoming interview at a reputed firm. She can connect to an alumni, who works for the same firm, to seek advice on interview sessions. She can actually "practice" her interview through the Learning Management System. Collaboration offers an incredible opportunity for both worlds.

In Summary

Corporate training can benefit higher education; corporates and universities should ideally work and learn together. Job-readiness is creating new and significant technological needs for a unique learning experience. Being in touch with trends is crucial for culminating into a successful organization and institution.