College graduates have a habit of leaving the state when they earn their degrees. Statewide educators and employers are set to meet next month to discuss strategies on curbing this habit.
According to an IU press release, statewide representatives from the higher education, industry, nonprofit, government and economic and workforce development sectors were invited to attend the third annual Education-to-Employment Convergence forum at IU-Purdue University Indianapolis.
Attendants will have an opportunity to discuss career readiness of Indiana college graduates.
Joe Carley, the associate director for economic development for the IU Office of the Vice President for Engagement, is one of the organizers and said he was positive about the impact the conference would have on students.
“Our goals are to advance conversations that will help employers and educators better understand each other’s needs and to identify opportunities for partnerships that will promote career readiness,” Carley said in the release.
According to the release, topics of the 2017 E2E Convergence include innovating partnerships between employers and educators to develop career-ready students, training and integrating recent college graduates into the workforce and incentivizing college graduates to stay in Indiana.
Carley said part of the problem with retaining students in Indiana is the lack of necessary jobs and industries.
“To some degree, Indiana does not have some of the industry opportunities that a student may be interested in,” Carley said.
For example, he said Indiana has a strong technology sector, but it is still relatively small compared to cities like San Francisco or Austin, Texas.
He said students need to have better opportunities for growth in Indiana.
“We need to better align our education programming with the industry needs, and that’s the point of the conference,” Carley said.
Although graduates leaving the state is an issue, Carley said there is also an issue of too many Hoosiers without necessary education. He said Indiana struggles to fill its workforce with workers with bachelor’s degrees. He said this trend makes Indiana and its workforce less inviting to employers.
Carley said there are a few ways to put together activities and initiatives that help students.
He said some activities that could help students are creating new courses and degrees, promoting earlier career counseling and bringing employers to campus to guest lecture or serve in an advisory role.
The event will take place from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 20 in the IU-Purdue University Indianapolis Campus Center 450, 420 University Blvd. Reservations are available through an RSVP form online.
Larmie Sanyon
