BHEF Insights 11.2019

® = WORK-BASED LEARNING This quarterly insight series brings BHEF members the latest information from our market intelligence and research-backed practices. INSIGHTS ON: As part of the Business-Higher Education Forum’s (BHEF) National Science Foundation (NSF) USI 2 Consortium grant, BHEF partnered with Northeastern University and NORC at the University of Chicago on a work-based learning (WBL) research project. This project sought to better understand how organizations are approaching WBL experiences as they pertain to talent acquisition, training, and connecting work and learning. This quarterly insights document synthesizes the key takeaways, challenges, and recommendations from that research. The full report, Designing and Implementing Work-Based Learning: A Call to Action for CHROs, is available on BHEF’s website. QUARTERLY INSIGHTS SERIES | NOVEMBER 2019 ® ® = Top-Level Takeaways WBL programs benefit every group involved: • Students gain real-world experience, build the professional and broad technical skills employers seek, and enter the workforce with more confidence. • Higher education, beyond the measured academic benefits, can demonstrate high return on investment (ROI) through post-graduation student employment. • Companies that have intentionally designed, comprehensive WBL programs identify the highest-quality talent, increase workforce diversity and retention, and strengthen their overall corporate effectiveness. For business: • WBL can amplify and accelerate corporate diversity efforts for new and incumbent talent. • Data demonstrate that WBL programs identify and retain top talent, which is critical to a firm’s strategy and bottom line. • WBL programs must be integrated in the firm’s comprehensive talent acquisition strategy. They cannot be siloed, and they require structure, intentional planning, and metrics to measure ROI. For higher education: • WBL is an opportunity to leverage CEOs’ emphasis on diversity, talent acquisition, and retention to build new and creative partnerships that benefit students. • WBL is a proven approach for students to acquire the skills employers desire, makes them known to hiring managers, and leads to jobs. • WBL validates and enhances the skills inherent within the liberal arts: communication, critical thinking, and teamwork. QUARTERLY INSIGHTS SERIES | NOVEMBER 2019 | 2 ® = Challenges in Expanding WBL: • Few employers are measuring the return on their WBL efforts, which limits the employer’s ability to understand how it can help their overall strategy and bottom line. • Employers may not have the appropriate infrastructure to implement WBL experiences. • 97 percent of business leaders believe that more WBL opportunities are needed; they need to be willing to team with higher education and invest to make it happen. Key Recommendations 1. Consider WBL for talent acquisition. Analysis shows that WBL identifies the highest quality and most productive talent. 2. Intentionally design WBL. Intentionally designed WBL experiences with dedicated resources can meet business objectives rather than only academic objectives. Research shows that purposeful design, strong supervisor support, and integration with academics boosts student’s success. 3. Employ a holistic, top-down approach. Business and higher education leaders must work more closely together rather than engage in one-off efforts. 4. Capture the data. Employers need to invest in tools, determine success metrics, and then measure their ROI. Doing so will enable leadership to pinpoint how WBL is supporting their overall goals and strategy. 5. Utilize WBL to increase diversity. WBL programs that partner with higher education institutions with diverse student populations open doors for traditionally overlooked students, allowing a company to recruit employees from a variety of backgrounds. For more information, please contact: Janet Chen, Director, Business-Higher Education Forum, janet.chen@bhef.com. QUARTERLY INSIGHTS SERIES | NOVEMBER 2019 | 3