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Colleges, Students Focus Education on Hot Careers

Posted on: Sunday, 16 April 2006, 18:00 CDT

By Tim Rausch, The Lima News, Ohio

Apr. 16--LIMA -- When Heather Hobson graduates from Rhodes State College in June, she'll be working as a registered nurse -- one of the hotly sought after professions in the state.

Registered nurses are fifth on the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services' list of occupations with the most openings annually -- about 4,500 openings. Hobson, 32, already has a job waiting for her at Lima Memorial Health System.

Melissa Grey, 34, of Lima, said she was happy to hear that her professional upon graduation was one in demand. It is eighth on the state's hot list.

With her associate's degree in office administration, Grey said she wanted to get into a clerical position with a large company.

When it comes to nurses, engineering technicians and office administrators from Rhodes State, "we can't produce enough of them to keep up with some of the needs we have in the area," said Darlene Brown, the college's director of career placement.

Area colleges and universities report a high rate of placement for their students -- placement to them meaning a job or graduate school. Some of the success comes from tailoring programs to meet the demands of employers. Others do so by keeping their educational niche strong.

"We've seen an increase in recruiters coming for our engineering students," said DeAnna Kussmaul, Ohio Northern University's director of student development. "Of course, our pharmacists are in high demand." In demand

Four years ago, Hobson received her degree from Rhodes State to become a licensed practical nurse and went to work for St. Rita's Medical Center. Hobson said she wanted to go back to college for 10 months to complete her registered nurse training because there is a need for registered nurses.

"It was a personal goal. It is fulfilling too, not just because of the money," Hobson said. "It is satisfying to go in, save lives and go home. That's what it is all about."

The need for nurses is a national one, Brown said. She said requests on the job line for office administration degree holders, which Grey will soon be, have always been in the top three mostly sought areas by employers.

"I had hoped it would not be hard to find a job when I got out," Grey said. She doesn't have one lined up yet, but she is also in no hurry. She works with a friend in a greenhouse.

Like Hobson, Grey said she picked her profession based on desire, not employer demand. She did not have the skills in computer programs to get a clerical job. Instead of taking a few classes, Grey said she went for the whole degree.

Brown said there is also a high demand at Rhodes State for machine technicians. "The machinery and tech is getting so complicated, most companies that have any high-tech machines are asking for two-year graduates just to be able to turn them on, much less understand how to operate and troubleshoot them," Brown said.

Information technology, agri business and diesel technicians are the top majors at the University of Northwestern Ohio, said Leigh Taylor, its co-director of career services.

"In this service-oriented society, those are the positions coming up," Taylor said.

The hot degrees for OSULima students, who may end up finishing the degree at the main campus in Columbus, are health services, engineering and transportation and logistics, said Donna Lamb, coordinator of the career services center in Lima.

Some of the fastest growing occupations, according to the state, are medical assistants, computer software engineers, environmental engineers and database administrators. There is need also for teachers, therapists and dental hygienists. High placement Even if the program is not in demand, colleges and universities report high levels of placement of graduates. Brown said Rhodes State has a 97 percent placement rate. "Our students do very well. Keep in mind, at Rhodes State graduating seniors to see who has a job or graduate school lined up. According to the 2005 survey, 61 percent of university graduates had a job six months after leaving the campus. However, 99 percent of those coming out of its pharmacy college had work.

All the campuses have career centers, where students can see postings for jobs and internships, as well as find resources for honing interview skills and getting feedback on resumes.

"We encourage every student to have an appointment starting with their first year here. We encourage them to be in here weekly during their senior year," Slinger said.

For the business college half at Northwestern, Taylor said a 75 percent placement rate is reported. It is low, she said, because employers seem to be seeking experience. For the technician half, the "automotive side," it is about 95 percent. our degrees are linked directly to what the community needs," Brown said.

Jacqui Slinger, Bluffton University's director of academic and career development, said graduates are surveyed at graduation and then six to 12 months later to get a sense of their employment status.

According to those respondents, Slinger said 96 percent to 97 percent of students are fully employed or in graduate school after leaving Bluffton.

The placement rate is 92 percent at OSU-Lima, Lamb said.

Kussmaul said Ohio Northern is currently surveying its

"They're specializing in certain fields. There are more jobs. In doing some research, it seems to be an area where things are growing into the service side, not in the manufacturing side," Taylor said.

And most of them aren't staying in the Lima area when they graduate. A drain?

The so-called "brain drain" of college graduates is different with the different universities.

"Brain drain isn't a problem for us," Brown said.

Rhodes State took a look at the 12,000 graduates in its history. Brown said 81 percent of those who are still living are still in Ohio. For the class of 2003, 94 percent of the graduates are still in the 10-county service area.

"Two-year students are landlocked, place-bound for that first job. They have family, they have activities, they have obligations. Most two-year graduates want to stay where they go to college," Brown said.

And for universities like Bluffton and Ohio Northern, where the students are recruited from other places, they leave the area after they graduate because many of them are going back home.

"A majority of our students come from a 100-mile radius. A lot of them would like to stay within that radius. A lot of students find jobs in that area," Slinger said.

Ohio Northern draws nationally, but a majority of those on campus are from Ohio, Kussmaul said. Many of the graduates don't leave Ohio, she added, but do leave the area.

"They are traveling and seeking employment in metro areas, Columbus being a very high draw for them. They're young, that is where they want to go," Kussmaul said.

"If they stay close to home, they'll have some possibilities. The further away in the big cities, the chances multiply. Dayton, Columbus, Cincinnati have more opportunities than our area, though our students do well in our 10-county area," Brown said.

Grey said she is staying in the Lima area. The California native who has lived in Lima for the last 13 years said she doesn't want to relocate again.

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Lima News, Ohio

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Source: The Lima News

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