The Steppingblocks platform has become a popular tool among various units on campus, including Career Services and Student Success, due to its ability to support student career development. As universities across the country are placing greater emphasis on career outcomes and becoming more data-driven, the platform has emerged as a favorite among those working with and for students. In an era where career readiness is more important than ever, the Steppingblocks platform, with its abilities to provide students with personalized career guidance and support, is a valuable asset that can help universities equip their students with the skills and resources they need to succeed in today’s workforce. Here are a few examples of how you can leverage Steppingblocks to support your students and their career exploration:
Understanding where the talent gaps are within industries and shifting practices to support those gaps
With Steppingblocks’ technology and data set, you are able to see specific skills that industries and job functions are hiring for. By having access to these trends, universities can adjust their curriculum, teach new and emerging skills, and eventually match graduates to local employers. Click here to read about a specific example from Kennesaw State University and how they have leveraged Steppingblocks to identify gaps of skills in data science and analytics sectors, and then utilize that knowledge to support their students.
Leveraging data to support skills development
We are seeing across industries, that students are graduating from higher education institutions with a deficit in technical skills. Steppingblocks has some great tools for institutions to start identifying where there may be gaps in skills for their students, so they can start making informed decisions surrounding their programs and curriculum to make sure their students are leaving with the skills they need to be successful when they enter the workforce. Check out our DataU conversation all about Essential Skills, and learn how you can help your students embrace their Essential Skills, as well as demonstrate your students' unique skills to employers.
Click here to watch a session with the Steppingblocks team about the challenges higher ed institutions face regarding skills and skill gaps, and ways institutions can start to address those challenges.
Using technology to drive student engagement
Only 11% of employers strongly agree that students are prepared for the workforce. Employers think things like a widening skills gap, a lack of collaboration, and a deficit in knowledge contribute to their doubt in graduates entering the workforce. So how do you instill engagement from your students to be sure that they are leaving your university confident and ready to succeed in their careers? Click here to read more about how you can use infrastructure, outreach tactics, focusing on nontraditional students and social media strategies to increase that engagement. Have more questions? Our team would be happy to show you how our programs can support these initiatives on your campus!
Driving student success initiatives on your campus
Student Success is becoming more of an integral part of universities’ focus on campuses. With more and more student success branches and offices being created on campuses across the nation, universities are wondering how these programs can be leveraged in the most effective way to support their students and their success on and after campus life. In collaboration with the National Institute for Student Success (NISS) Steppingblocks has released the number one ebook for launching a successful Student Success program at your university. Click here to learn more!
Leveraging data with incoming students to support success
The University of Memphis recognized the capability of Steppingblocks platforms and data to support their campus’ career readiness efforts, and adopted Steppingblocks to give students access to graduate outcomes data that is historically hard for universities to acquire. Click here to read more about how the University of Memphis implemented and rolled out Digital Career Counselor on their campus, and how they are beginning to use this platform to support student career readiness initiatives, and how they are helping incoming students with their career exploration journeys.