Corporations and career centers : a model for future partnerships

Abstract

One common goal among most college students is to obtain employment at the end of their four or five years of college. Career centers are a part of the campus community that helps students attain this goal. In recent years, however, career centers' services have been enhanced by the formation of partnerships with companies and organizations that most often employ recent college graduates. These "corporate partnerships" give career centers connections to the business world and give corporations connections to prospective employees, the students.The purpose of this project was to provide insight into the benefits and disadvantages of forming partnerships between corporations and career centers and, primarily, to make recommendations on the process of forming those partnerships. A survey of 138 career centers and eight national corporations was used to gather information regarding corporate partnerships. The findings indicated that partnerships often revolve around funding and relationship building and also involve many different people at many different levels. Corporate partnerships require time and commitment for both parties, and a number of factors must be taken into consideration when forming partnerships including the students served and the university's strengths and weaknesses.