South Carolina college uses new tool for program evaluation, job-placement services
With manufacturing sites shutting down and the unemployment rate approaching 14%, the need for career and job-placement services has become vital in the Pendleton, SC, area. To help meet this demand and refine its own program evaluation process, Tri-County Technical College (TCTC) is using Job Finder, a new career exploration tool from EMSI that takes labor market trends, occupational compatibility, and current job openings into consideration.
TCTC has put Job Finder throughout its Career Services and WIA offices so individual jobseekers can explore new career opportunities based on the best available information. According to Chris Marino, Director of Institutional Research at TCTC, staff members have found the tool to be “very straightforward. They sincerely like the suggestion of complementary (occupation) options and the links to the jobs postings.”
The job listings and regional labor market information inside Job Finder also have been useful for evaluating TCTC offerings. If a program at the school doesn’t place a specific percentage of graduates into jobs in that field, it goes on probation. Part of the process for removing a program from probation is indicating local labor market demand. “Over the next five years there might be 150 openings [in welding], but there are 56 job listings right now,” Marino says. “Our program review people have found that to be compelling.”
