While speaking with a rather successful business owner (who preferred not to be identified) over a hotel lobby breakfast before heading to a morning meeting, the entrepreneur and I engaged in a discussion around the state of preparedness of recent graduates to enter the workplace, the role of higher education in preparing students for careers, and the obligation businesses should uphold in that outcome. Needless to say, it was a conversation that reached no resolution and only served to raise complex issues that are likely being played out in many business owner' minds, employees' souls, and students' psyches.

Role of Education

Central to the discussion is the understanding the purpose of higher education institutions. Some people will align with the thought that the education system from the elementary grades through to the undergraduate years should be focused on developing the students' ability to reason, think, express him or herself via the written word, and expand their intellect as they develop good citizenship, respect for the values and morals of the country, etc. The preparation for a career or the need to act as a "feeder system" to commerce and industry is contrary to the mission of the educational institutions. With the exception of specifically designated Trade Schools or those careers that require very specific licensure and training, such as Physician, Engineer, Attorney, Accountant - most Liberal Arts schools or programs within larger institutions

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would sniff derisively at the notion of sacrificing the pursuit of knowledge for knowledge sake and replacing it with concrete career building skills.

On the other side of the discussion is the eventual employer complaining that the product being produced by the schools is not sufficient to meet the needs of the business. Students are not as well prepared for assuming management level jobs upon graduation and are often requiring training or remedial instruction, all at the expense of the business, to learn what was expected to have been mastered while in school. Many schools have recognized this deficit and have placed greater emphasis on ensuring certain fundamentals are covered successfully within classes and that graduates have basic skills for entering the workplace that extend beyond the facts regurgitated on a test comparing Plato to Socrates or Roosevelt to Truman. While there still remains an open debate as to what the appropriate focus should be within educational institutions, it is not exclusively a one-sided responsibility.

The Business Responsibility

The business owner sharing breakfast with me was quick to point out that while he has been disappointed with the caliber and quality of many of the graduates applying for jobs at his $100 Million Dollar multi-national company; he also recognized that he has a responsibility to engage both the students and the administration of the local schools in order to correct the misalignment. To that end, he has done the following:

Created an internship program to give students in their Senior year of school a chance to experience and gain exposure to the skills required to succeed in practice and not simply academically.

Meets with the faculty and student organizations on campus to talk about issues as they relate to curriculum, class assignments, and requirements.

Instituted a "shadow" program where students could follow a particular employee for a day that worked in an area of interest to the student in an effort to expose that student to the reality of the job and provide a mini-mentoring relationship between employee and student.

Not simply content to work exclusively with the schools to address the issue, the business owner also works with the University of San Diego as an Adjunct Faculty member to conduct seminars and workshops for owners of Family Owned Businesses to help them transition from generation to generation, as well as working with non-family employees and management in their companies. Owning his own business and having hired both family and non-family members into his company, his voice is one of experience.

As I listened to this committed business owner tick off the actions he has taken to bridge the gap between school and work environments, I was struck by how few businesses ever take those steps. Sure, it is easy to complain about the mismatch between expectations and capabilities, but most business owners would rather curse the darkness than try to light a candle to help illuminate the path forward. Regardless of company size, there can almost always be an opportunity to work with educational institutions to improve the student's understanding, but also the business' functionality, capabilities, or performance.

Level of Commitment

One organization that works tirelessly to promote the blending of academic preparation with the practical know-how of business is the Students in Free Enterprise or SIFE (www.sife.org). Relying on donations and grants from private businesses as well as governmental funding, SIFE is committed to providing students with opportunities to learn first hand about:

1. Market Economics
2. Success Skills
3. Entrepreneurship
4. Financial Literacy
5. Business Ethics

Corporate advisory boards, comprised of small, large, for profit, and charitable organizations support the students with their time, energy, guidance, and mentorship to assist the students in learning how to transition from the classroom to the business floor. The experiences gained from this association certainly help build the strengths of the students participating, but they also serve to strengthen the bridge between business and academic organizations and is rewarding in its own right.

Having personally participated in evaluating presentations at competitions between teams representing their schools before, I can attest to the sense of affinity, pride, and dedication that the students, advisors, and others that support them feel with each team's presentation. The learning that occurs is tangible, but more importantly perhaps is the sense of confidence that students feel from participating in the endeavor. And, many a new hire was chosen on the strength of observing them in action versus peers. My breakfast companion ended the conversation by commenting how he has come to doubt much of the fodder on resumes, but he still recognizes talent when he sees it stacked up against others with his own eyes.

So, while not every lofty cerebral thing learned on the campuses of institutions of higher learning may be directly applicable to the practical world of business, but by working toward a common goal, business and education do not have to be polar opposites that never come together and share a successful outcome.

David Zahn is a serial entrepreneur and consultant to Fortune 100 businesses (www.zahnconsulting.com) as well as entrepreneurial startups (www.startupbuilder.com).

The opinions expressed are the author's and not necessarily those of connpost.com. Please direct comments to cdauber@ctpost.com.