Preparing the Work Force of Tomorrow
EXEControl Global
Solutions is a company that adheres to long term planning
rather than reacting to the crisis of the moment. In addition,
one of the greatest assets of the firm has been the quality
of its employees.
When Allan Robison, president
and CEO, looked at the number of young people ending
their education after completing
high school he was alarmed. “Realizing the negative
effect this would have on their lives, and to some extent
my company, stirred me to start a ‘College and Careers’ class
in an effort to encourage the youth to reach higher,” Allan
said.
“If you had $1,000,000, what would you do with it?” Allan
asks his students each year. “The reality is,” he
explains to them, “on average a college graduate
will earn $1,000,000 more over the course of their lifetime
than someone with only a high school degree.”
According to the US Department
of Labor summarized in the table below, computer software
application engineers
is the fourth fastest growing occupational category, and
70-80% of workers have a college degree, with a graduate
degree required for some of the more complex software engineering
jobs. In addition, the higher a worker’s education
the lower the chance they will be unemployed.
Yet, only 24% of the population
earns a Bachelor’s
or graduate degree.
It takes a lot of time to put
something like this together, and every year Allan tells
himself, “I’m not
going to do this again next year,” and yet Allan
continues to do the College and Careers class. Why? “Teaching
this class is very rewarding,” he explained.”
Each year at least one student who started the class with
no intention of continuing their education has dramatically
revolutionized their future with a decision to continue
on to higher education. Allan started providing these classes
in 2004 and now runs across students from his original
classes in various social settings where students will
come up and thank him for the class. Many often tell him
that the class played a huge roll in their decision toward
higher education.
During the class students are
taught how to interview for a job, how to write a resume,
how to live within their
means, how to select a college and how to pay for college. “I
think one of the most exciting times is at the end of the
semester when we hold a job interview competition where
each of the students competes with their peers interviewing
for a job of their choice in front of professional recruiters.
Not only is it good experience for the students but we
provide scholarship money to the top three students.”
The class involves the entire capital district business
community. Some companies provide financial support and
others volunteer as speakers for the classes.
The local colleges have been a great support of the program.
Allan has had many colleges including Union College, Siena
College, Russell Sage College, Schenectady County Community
College and Skidmore College all participate in the program.
Allan Robison is President & CEO
of EXEControl Global Solutions. EXEControl Global Solutions
was founded in 1969
to provide software, technology and general business assistance
to private sector companies. EXEControl Global Solutions
offers business software, business consulting, networking
support and services throughout North America. EXEControl
Global Solutions is well known as a corporate partner who
helps companies use technology to better their business
by growing sales, reducing costs, increasing margins and
increasing customer satisfaction.
The Difference an Education Makes |
Education Attained |
Population over age 24 |
Unemployment rate in 2009 |
Weekly earnings in 2009 |
IT industry education attainment |
Some high school |
9.2% |
14.8% |
$465 |
|
High school graduate |
28.6% |
9.3% |
$630 |
10% |
Some college |
27.6% |
8.5% |
$719 |
31% |
College degree |
34.6% |
5.2% |
$1,031 |
45% |
Graduate/professional degree |
Not broken out |
Not broken out |
$1,332 |
13% |
Data from US Department of Labor, Bureau
of Labor Statistics (www.bls.gov), United Engineering
Foundation |
|