Transform Hiring Approaches, From Internships Through Career Pathways

The SHRM Annual Conference & Expo 2024 (SHRM24) concurrent session “Widening Pathways to Work Results: Results You Can Use from Employer Pilot Efforts to Transform Hiring and Retention” hit home for Linsee Matthews, senior talent acquisition specialist at Apex Capital Corp Inc., headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas.

She was one of the SHRM24 attendees listening to the three-member panel discuss ways employers are piloting new practices in hiring and retention and the importance of considering job candidates’ skills and potential.

Using a college degree as a candidate qualifier when it’s unnecessary for the job’s responsibilities can filter out applicants who could be good employees. And current employees may be in the dark about the skills they need to be promoted and how to obtain those skills, Matthews said. It’s imperative that organizations communicate that to workers, she added.

With that in mind, Matthews wants to create career paths around job descriptions “and see where we truly need degree requirements,” she said after the session. “What if we said, ‘Here’s the skill and here’s the pathway’ ” that employees could follow with those skills.

Her organization encourages employees to use LinkedIn Learning courses and other resources to learn the top eight to 10 skills for a given role, as well as prompts employers to provide mentorship and internal networking opportunities, encourage managers to permit employees to take on a special project or stretch assignment, and create career development plans.

Lisa Durkin, Jobs for the Future

Employers should acknowledge the alternative ways that job candidates can obtain skills.

Stand Together, a philanthropic organization based in Arlington, Va., partnered with Jobs for the Future (JFF), represented on the panel by director Lisa Durkin, and edX to launch the edX MicroBachelors Program Pathway Initiative, according to panelist Andy Tonsing, vice president of postsecondary education at Stand Together. The initiative provides learners without four-year degrees access to flexible, affordable pathways to job-ready skills.

“What are their aptitudes, strengths, and what drives them?” are questions employers should ask of job candidates. “What are you capable of doing?” Tap into those individual strengths and skills and invest in that individual’s development, Tonsing advised.

Andy Tonsing, Stand Together

Panelist Shelle Randall, director of workforce development and existing industry for Jonesboro Unlimited in Jonesboro, Ark., spoke of the company’s work with Arkansas State University, which has an annual enrollment of 14,000 students.  

“We’ve developed a solution to reach [those students],” she said. The organization created a dedicated internship website and regularly hosts employer workshops and intern mixers. More than two-dozen interns have registered for a daylong “Get To Know Jonesboro” event in July with the aim of giving them a feel for the community before they return to the campus in the fall.

In 2023, 24 interns from Frito-Lay, Hytrol, FMH Conveyors, and law firm Waddell, Cole, and Jones participated in the event,  learning the city’s history, playing laser tag, packing meals at a food bank and enjoying lunch.

Organizations need to build on their values and have a clear understanding of their internship programs, Randall said.

Shelle Randall, Jonesboro Unlimited

“Know why you’re doing this and establish short-term wins you can celebrate,” along with the long-term ones, she said.

Also, encourage colleges and universities to offer credit for internships served and create internships that provide a valuable learning experience for the student.