Schools that market their graduates
Schools are increasingly involved in the professional integration of their graduates. The methods used are proactive and verge on aggressiveness. Nepotism? The managers deny it.
Internships and jobs "for everyone" or almost everyone, this is the new trend in business and engineering schools. This approach is a central aspect of the operating policy of some institutions, particularly in the private sector. At Al Akhawayn University, an average of 15% of graduates are recruited through the institution. At Mundiapolis, the figures are less precise, but according to the institution's estimates, the proportion of students recruited through the school can reach 45% in some years. At ESCA, school management announces that four students were recruited and several internships were obtained through the school last year. The phenomenon itself is certainly not new, but has rather "undergone some changes", innovation obliges! For some years now, it is the public business and engineering schools (ENCG, ISCAE, EMI, ENSIAS...) which have led the way by initiating open days and forums during which their future graduates meet companies, but also by establishing job and internship notice boards where potential recruiters come to post their offers. Adopting this formula, private institutions fully exploit the employment card by pushing the method to a level of maximum efficiency.
Employment centers at school
At Al Akhawayn, Mundiapolis, ESCA... as in many other private institutions, it is no longer only episodic events that are organized to put graduates on the path to employment. On the contrary, entire departments (generally called employment, internship and orientation services) have been dedicated to supporting students. These are a kind of internal recruitment agency whose mission is to develop students' job search and company integration skills and to support their professional integration, acting proactively, even "aggressively", with potential recruiters. Ikram Benseddik, head of the careers, orientation and graduate affairs department at Al Akhawayn University, explains the method: "I have a database of companies that I regularly update. These companies often contact me directly when they have a recruitment need." According to Benseddik, this type of direct contact tends to be preferred to the notice board by recruiters, for several reasons. Firstly, she points out, some companies find the approach discreet and it prevents them from being bombarded with job applications, as is the case when the offer is announced on the notice board. Secondly, by addressing their offers directly to the school's employment service, companies have the advantage of finding the right profile, because the service, having accompanied the students throughout their studies, knows precisely the skills and aspirations of each of them. A question arises at this level: how does this manager select the candidates to propose to the potential recruiter? Again, at the Al Akhawayn employment service, it is explained that to choose one or two candidates from an entire graduating class, "we select CVs based on the criteria set by the company. Example: if the company wants a candidate who has had experience in its field of activity, the one among our future graduates who has done an internship in the field is more likely to be recommended to the company." At Mundiapolis, the approach is much the same. "We classify the information concerning the monitoring and coaching of each student throughout their course. This same information helps them to integrate into the world of work, by recommending them to companies according to their skills," explains Hanane El Jaffali, head of the Care Center (the Mundiapolis employment service).
Spiderweb effect
These approaches to announcing offers and recommending candidates are merely the culmination of carefully planned upstream work. At this level, several techniques are used by the institutions. Foremost among these is the multitude of workshops and job days that schools regularly organize, where business leaders, experts and former graduates in positions are always invited. These meetings officially aim to have professionals share their experiences with students and enlighten them on the realities and trends of the job market. In the background, these meetings also serve the schools' employment services to build databases of companies to prospect, to bring their students closer to these professionals and to open the way for obtaining internships and jobs. In this approach, the school's alumni network (a practice that is also becoming widespread) is also largely used. In this regard, Ikram Benseddik explains that everything is connected in their work. "We keep in touch with companies, we follow the progress of our graduates and behind the job offers that are directly addressed to my service, there are generally our former graduates themselves as referrers," she emphasizes. The scope of these new practices deserves questioning: is this a disguised form of nepotism or a perfectly legal method? At the schools, they deny it. At Mundiapolis and Al Akhawayn, we are told that it is not nepotism at all, since the work of their employment service is essentially aimed at teaching students to be autonomous and to develop their professional skills and that encouraging companies to be interested in their graduates is only part of their mission. So be it. However, if private institutions more than public ones are fully engaged in this type of practice, it is because it represents an important challenge for them. Having a high professional integration rate is a powerful marketing argument for these institutions.
Posted on February 8, 2011
