Bryant & Stratton focuses on employability of its graduates

CLAY — Once college students earn their degrees, the next step is to either further their education or begin pursuit of their first job.

To help its students prepare for their job search, the local campuses of Bryant & Stratton College in mid-July held an “Employability Week” that included an alumni panel, student workshops, and a webinar that focused on advice for a job search.

The college held workshops at the campus at 8687 Carling Road in Clay and the one at 953 James St. in Syracuse.

In promoting the event, Bryant & Stratton College Online on June 5 announced it collaborated with Arlington, Va.–based Wakefield Research on a survey that found 80 percent of young adults aged 18 to 34 believe they have skills, experience, and education necessary to advance in their career path.

At the same time, the school also cited a December 2012 report from McKinsey & Company, Inc. entitled “Education to Employment: Designing a System that Works,” which indicates 39 percent of employers maintain jobs aren’t filled because entry-level candidates don’t have the necessary skills.

McKinsey & Company, Inc. is a New York City–based a management-consulting firm.

Bryant & Stratton organized activities to have students focus on professional and “soft skills,” says Kristen Aust, systems manager of career services for all campuses of Bryant & Stratton, which has a local office in Syracuse.

The soft skills include “…problem solving and time management and accountability and how important all those things are in the work place,” Aust says.

The school began the week with an alumni panel featuring former students who spoke about their experiences after graduation. They also talked about how they secured internships and landed their first job after college.

Bryant and Stratton also conducted a series of student workshops on July 16, which it referred to as “Employability Day.”

The workshops focused on résumé building, how to handle job interviews, and their online presentation on social-media websites, such as LinkedIn.

That same day included a lunch hour with a fashion show that focused on the types of apparel considered appropriate for the workplace, the school said.

Later that week, the activities concluded on July 19 with additional workshops on résumés and cover-letter writing. In addition, the school also presented an “Employability Summit,” a webinar conducted in Buffalo that included human-resource representatives from companies such as Marriott International (NYSE: MAR), Redmond, Wash.–based Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) and Clayton, Mo.–based Enterprise Rent-A-Car.

The representatives discussed what they look for in candidates during the hiring process and offered tips for improving a candidate’s interviewing skills.

“How to really present yourself and be able to articulate your academic preparedness in relation to helping a company and how you can have a positive impact on the things that are important to them,” Aust says.

  Medical employment

Bryant & Stratton College also hosted a “Medical Employer Panel” on Aug. 14 at its downtown campus at 953 James St. in Syracuse.

Representatives from the Upstate University Hospital Community Campus, the New York State Society of Medical Assistants, and St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center participated in the event. The panelists discussed their educational backgrounds, training exams, the interview process, day-to-day responsibilities, and local opportunities for entry-level positions, the school said.

The two Syracuse–area Bryant & Stratton campuses offer health-care degree programs for students interested in work as a medical-administrative assistant, in health-services administration, and in medical assisting, the school said.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com