AND INTERNSHIP PROGRAMS*

Transcription

1 425 WORK STLTDY AND INTERNSHIP PROGRAMS* DAVID E SCHAFIER Kansas S t a t e University Thanks t o each of you i n t h e U n i v e r s i t i e s who received and returned t h e survey form s e n t about t h r e e months ago Increasing i n t e r e s t i s being shown i n programs that w i l l add a n e x t r a dimension t o t h e University graduate's experience Some of t h i s i n t e r e s t has r e s u l t e d from industry c r i t i c i s m t h a t students a r e n9t receiving s u f f i c i e n t "real-world" experience i n t h e i r University t r a i n i n g A r e f l e c t i o n of t h i s thinking i s a comment r e c e n t l y made i n one of our n a t i o n a l industry magazines, "School c l a s s e s on l i v e s t o c k tend t o be long on theory and s h o r t on p r a c t i c e " I am s u r e t h a t t h i s i s a major concern, e s p e c i a l l y for companies o r agencies with few employees and no extensive t r a i n i n g program of t h e i r own It may a l s o be p a r t i a l l y t r u e f o r companies with t h e i r own t r a i n i n g programs who wish t o reduce o v e r a l l t r a i n i n g c o s t s Anything reducing t h e time f o r a graduate t o achieve maximum p r o d u c t i v i t y would be looked on with f a v o r Work study or i n t e r n s h i p programs a r e one means of blending "on t h e job experiences" with t h e more t r a d i t i o n a l l e c t u r e - l a b University c l a s s e s My d e f i n i t i o n of work study or i n t e r n s h i p programs f o r t h i s paper i s, "A planned extra-academic experience with a goal i n mind" To f i n d out how extensive and what type programs now e x i s t, I surveyed a l l land grant u n i v e r s i t y Meat Science s e c t i o n s of Animal o r Food Science departments Of 44 surveys s e n t out, o r 827 were returned Although rqy a l l o c a t i o n i n t o regions did not make them equal numbered, t h e following t a b l e i n d i c a t e s a l i t t l e something about areas of t h e U S where formal work study or i n t e r n s h i p programs i n meats presently e x i s t Among t h e returned surveys, about half t h e u n i v e r s i t i e s have approved programs f o r undergraduate students t o gain industry o r nonacademic work experience, about one-sixth have programs f o r graduate students and only one-twelfth have any programs o t h e r than s a b b a t i c a l leave f o r f a c u l t y r e t o o l i n g and updating * Presented a t the 27th Annual Reciprocal Meat Conference of t h e American Meat Science Association, 974

2 429 TABLE UNIVERSITY SURVEYS Returns by region : Approved program for: Students Grad students Faculty NE SE NC : Nw No formal program, summer jobs encouraged 2 Total Aside from formal programs, most u n i v e r s i t i e s encourage and assist some students i n finding summer jobs i n t h e i r i n t e r e s t a r e a Of t h e 8 u n i v e r s i t i e s i n d i c a t i n g some type of formal program, t h e number o f p a r t i c i p a n t s i n t h e l a s t t h r e e years i s presented i n t a b l e 2 These same u n i v e r s i t i e s were asked whether t h e i r program p a r t i c i p a t i o n was increasing, s t a t i c or decreasing The general trend i s d e f i n i t e l y increasing TABLE 2 UNIVERSITY SU!YEYSl8 NO OF PARTICIPANTS I N LAST Students Grad students *I25 RESPONSES YEARS SW NE SE NC p 8 lo NL - Total 20 5 students from one u n i v e r s i t y of which only t h r e e took a course for c r e d i t Increasing 2 2 Static Decreasing

3 40 Some of t h e reasons given f o r increased programs use i n t h e l a s t few years a r e b r i e f l y presented i n t a b l e TABI;E REASONS FOR INCREASED PROGRAM USE Need f o r experience i n job market Academic c r e d i t i n a s t r u c t u r e d program Reasonable payment, prospect of permanent employment 4 Meat extension contacts i n i n d u s t r y 5 Cooperative industry contact person Q u a l i t y students help s e l l t h e program t o industry 7 Awareness of opportunity and word of mouth From those u n i v e r s i t i e s i n d i c a t i n g a s t a t i c or declining program, some of t h e p o s s i b l e reasons a r e given i n t a b l e 4 TABLE 4 REASONS FOR LACK O F GROWING PARTICIPATION Inadequate promotion t o students and cooperators Required r e g i s t r a t i o n f e e and r e p o r t s Inadequate support from u n i v e r s i t y 4 Limited p a r t i c i p a t i o n by design 5 D i s i n t e r e s t of some students and meat processors Examples of experiences gained by p a r t i c i p a n t s a r e given next: Packing p l a n t Q C organization and supervision Processing p l a n t Packaging, boxed beef o p e r a t b n Supermarket Livestock buying Meat Lab (work study) Pork grading Meat Lab (research p r o j e c t ) Qual ControlAnal Tech,, Prod, Dev, Appl Res P l a n t SanitationPlanning and implementation Microbiol AssayNew methods

4 A s s t Manager of small processing p l a n t (8-0 employees ) Beef p a t t y production operation development Studied meat operations o f chain s t o r e HR&I operation Carcass eval, order picking, processing A question w a s asked on percent of supervised time i n each o f t h e s e experiences Replies ranged f r m 5 t o 70$ University people generally evaluated industry response t o work study o r i n t e r n s h i p programs by: Generally high enthusiasm w i t h improvement a f t e r a few experiences Some skepticism and concern about p r o p r i e t a r y information Biggest drawback i s lack of supervisory time under production conditions I n t h e a r e a of evaluation, u n i v e r s i t i e s r e q u i r e w r i t t e n r e p o r t s from students while four (some may r e q u i r e both) require an o r a l r e p o r t o r consultation As an i n d i c a t i o n of t r e n d s f o r t h e f u t u r e, i f t h e polled u n i v e r s i t y people were responsible f o r administering t h i s type of program, 0 would increase support, would maintain as i s and gave no response Some s e l e c t e d comments and suggestions include: Students g e t t i n g work experience in meats o f t e n make a career of it Emphasize c a r e e r development P r a c t i c a l experience adds t o "employability" of graduate Program i s only a s good as preplanning, supervision by advisor and follow through by company o r agency involved 4 Orientation of s t u d e n t s very important before going i n t o host plant 5 a Discuss operations, product flow, s p e c i a l techniques, e t c t o be i n b e t t e r p o s i t i o n t o evaluate b Avoid being "pushed" about i n f o t h a t may be c o n f i d e n t i a l Reports should include: a Personnel a l l o c a t i o n and job r e s p o n s i b i l i t y i n various phases of p l a n t operation and management b Strong points of p l a n t organization and management,

5 c Weak p o i n t s d Expected y i e l d s and productivity, i f a v a i l a b l e Faculty leave f o r industry experience i s an e x c e l l e n t o p p r t u n i t y 7 D i f f i c u l t i e s : a Growing j u n i o r college t r a n s f e r s i t u a t i o n with s h o r t e r time t o g e t t o know students and d i r e c t them i n t o s p e c i a l i z e d interest areas b Students seek swmner jobs with highest pay t o finance r e s t of y e a r ' s schooling c d Need more financing Course i n catalog f o r years, b u t students not motivated i n that direction 8 A number of u n i v e r s i t i e s have programs under discussion and 9 Excellent opportunity f o r both student and industry e a r l y planning Although v a r i a t i o n s might be presented, t h e r e appear t o be about f i v e l e v e l s of program organization and support No program Encourage student a p p l i c a t i o n f o r c a r e e r development summer jobs Arrange with business and agency executives f o r c e r t a i n number of student summer j o b s Campus meat l a b and research p r o j e c t experience would be i n this category 4 After preliminary t a l k s about program objectives with company person, l e t student and company work out a s e r i e s of experiences i n t h e s t u d e n t ' s i n t e r e s t a r e a s Keep it somewhat unstructured No c r e d i t, no f i n a n c i a l a i d 2 t o 2 week schedule of observation and work experiences i n a d i v e r s i f i e d meat business Give u n i v e r s i t y c r e d i t and require student evaluation of t h e experience Provide a stipend t o cover above normal l i v i n g expenses o r work contribution t o t h e company Schedule f a c u l t y member v i s i t a t i o n o r conference 5 Arrange a well-organized To g e t some f e e l f o r t h e processing p l a n t ' s r e a c t i o n t o student work study o r i n t e r n s h i p programs, surveys were s e n t t o seven companies which have hosted students i n t h e Kansas S t a t e program The responses a r e found i n table 5

6 4 TABLE: 5 KANSAS PROCESSING PLANT SURVEYS 4 of 7 surveys returned covered 4 of p a r t i c i p a n t s over t h e past 5 years most p a r t i c i p a n t s well prepared some undergrads inadequately prepared one plant commented on l a c k of cost accounting exposure and t r a i n i n g - - a l l f e l t students were w e l l received by plant management and other personnel Gains from students f o r t h e companies p a r t i c i p a t i n g i n t h i s program included: A few new ideas () Occasional morale boost () Some value from f i n a l r e p o r t s ( 2 ) Numbers i n parentheses indicate responses When asked i f t h e i r company would be receptive t o providing vacation r e l i e f summer jobs f o r i n t e r e s t e d students t o gain experience i n a v a r i e t y of jobs, responses were: Y e s () i n laboring jobs No ()any management r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s require t o o long t o acquire expertise i n accounting i n f o and company policy It i s not worth t h e time and trouble unless t h e student i s going t o be on t h e payroll The only company suggestion given f o r meats f a c u l t y who f e e l i n s u f f i c i e n t l y experienced i n industry problems t o l e a r n and a t t h e same time contribute samething was t o hold conferences Perhaps my question was not w e l l understood To end t h i s section on a p o s i t i v e note, one of our industry respondees observed t h a t p l a n t personnel o f t e n gain as much from working with u n i v e r s i t y people as vice versa The experience can be mutually beneficial The t h i r d p a r t of t h i s presentation covers w h a t student p a r t i c i p a n t s say about t h e i r experiences in t h e Kansas program

7 44 A s a l i t t l e background information, Kansas S t a t e University's Meat Packing P l a n t Operations course has been approved f o r t h e course catalog s i n c e 95 From Davey Mackintosh, I learned t h a t, a t t h a t time, it received considerable r e s i s t a n c e from some of our more academic colleagues Objections r a i s e d were t h a t close f a c u l t y supervision was not possible and college c r e d i t should not be granted f o r off-campus experiences After a hard fought b a t t l e, t h e course was approved S i m i l a r ones soon followed To Davey Mackintosh's knowledge, t h i s w a s t h e f i r s t course of i t s type approved i n our University and i n any meats program i n t h e country Davey had p a r t i c i p a t e d i n an earlier attempt by t h e University of Chicago t o i n s t i t u t e a program l i k e t h i s, but it u l t i m a t e l y f a i l e d because of inadequate f a c u l t y back up S t a t i s t i c s on t h e K-State course and those 4 p a r t i c i p a n t s surveyed f o r t h i s r e p o r t follow i n t a b l e TABLE KANSAS PARTICIPANT SURVEYS 952 t o 974 p a r t i c i p a n t s 9 surveys s e n t ; 4 returned 9 took course as grad student, 5 as undergrads of 4 returned: 8 d i f f e r e n t p l a n t s represented 2- weeks f o r 2-4 c r e d i t s a l l during summer months Some p a r t i c i p a n t r e a c t i o n s t o t h e experience were: Yes (ll), No ( ) - recommend preparatory meeting with f a c u l t y advisor t o o u t l i n e objectives and a n t i c i p a t e problem areas before entering p l a n t Preparedness before e n t e r i n g t h e p l a n t Supervisory personnel i n t h e p l a n t s could be b e t t e r informed about program needs and objectives Most f e l t well-received by plant management and supervisory personnel Cooperative p l a n t personnel i n answering questions and discussing s i t u a t i o n s Yes (2), No (2)Concern over p r o p r i e t a r y i n f o r mat ion Advance planning and communication important f o r newly cooperating p l a n t s

8 45 Past experiences relayed t o p l a n t management may m k e t h e i r program more e f f e c t i v e and l e s s d i s r u p t i v e When asked i f t h e i r reception would have been b e t t e r i f employed by t h e company, 0 r e p l i e d "yes" and four r e p l i e d "no"already very good Some a d d i t i m a l comments were t h a t : plant personnel were h e s i t a n t t o confide i n temporary o r nonemployees more time would be invested i n a r e g u l a r employee - - r e l a t i o n s witn p l a n t labor f o r c e would improve i f employed Five thought a f u l l - t i m e summer job would be as u s e f u l an experience while nine thought t h i s would not provide as broad a n experience Undergraduates generally considered a summer job s u i t a b l e a s a n a l t e r n a t e experience while graduate students considered t h a t a l t e r n a t i v e c o n s t r i c t i v e Eight out of fourteen r e p l i e d t h a t t h i s experience influenced t h e i r choice of c a r e e r s P a r t i c i p a n t observations and suggestions for improving t h e course a r e given below Promote t h e opportunities because t h e r e a r e many students who without a l i t t l e persuasion a r e r e l u c t a n t t o commit themselves t o new and d i f f e r e n t experiences Have adequate coursework p r e r e q u i s i t e s f o r maximum b e n e f i t e s p e c i a l l y f o r s p e c i a l i z e d areas such as sausage, curing, byproducts, waste disposal, c o s t accounting Combination of observation and work i n s t e a d of lo@ observation 4 Don't make experience t o o b r i e f 5 - Select plants carefully Personal v i s i t by u n i v e r s i t y f a c u l t y f o r public r e l a t i o n s and coordination e s p e c i a l l y important e a r l y i n program Follow-up v i s i t may be d e s i r a b l e 79 Encourage contact person t o communicate with t h e i r supervisory personnel on what t h e program i s, who's coming, and w h a t i s expected of them a Don't recommend f o r undergrads ( 7 ) 9 Valuable experience even though not now d i r e c t l y i n meats work 0 G r e a t e s t course one grad took

9 4 Our College of Agriculture r e c e n t l y sponsored a conference t o i n v e s t i g a t e p o s s i b i l i t i e s f o r a Professional Master's Degree of a d d i t i o n a l i n t e r n s h i p t r a i n i n g progrvns P a r t i c i p a n t s included repres e n t a t i v e s from t h e University f a c u l t y and administration, agribusiness and governmental agencies Some ideas presented a t t h a t meeting b r i e f l y s t a t e d here may add g r e a t e r scope t o t h i s discussion More business o r i e n t a t i o n i s needed i n t e c h n i c a l l y t r a i n e d a g r i c u l t u r a l graduates i f they a r e t o adapt w e l l i n agribusiness j o b s Courses such as: c o s t accounting, c a p i t a l management, cash flow, governmental controls and public policy, sales, personnel management and psychology a r e needed A t l e a s t a t h r e e month on-the-job i n t e r n s h i p period w a s recommended A t p a r t i c u l a r l y a graduate l e v e l, some funding may be d e s i r a b l e However, i n d u s t r y firms a r e generally not w i l l i n g t o commit student support funds without some assurance of r e t u r n f o r investment o r voice i n s e l e c t i o n of candidates Good students may be drawn t o funded programs 4 F l e x i b i l i t y t o tailor-make a program t o meet student i n t e r e s t and needs i s important 5 Business and governmental people would be w i l l i n g t o serve i n advisory c a p a c i t i e s f o r i n t e r n s h i p programs and a l s o provide guest l e c t u r e s and seminars Some s a w g r e a t e r need for undergraduate i n t e r n programs than graduate programs 7 Faculty-industry-agency interchange w a s proposed as a p o s s i b i l i t y f o r u p d a t i n g i n d u s t r y and agency personnel a t t h e University as w e l l as providing an invaluable s h o r t term resource t o students Simultaneously, f a c u l t y could be gaining " r e a l world'' experience i n industry-agency p o s i t i o n s 8 Neither an i n t e r n s h i p program or Professional Master's program a r e of any g r e a t value t o industry unless they reduce t h e period of on-the-job t r a i n i n g required t o make t h e employee productive i n an economic sense 9 Any i n d u s t r y funds given t o support t h e s e programs would not be used t o cover administrative overhead

10 47 Recommendations f o r a successful propram: Consider whatever program you decide on worthwhile a n d generate enthusiasm f o r it C u l t i v a t e i n d u s t r y contacts Industry people, consider t h i s an investment in t h e f'uture of your i n d u s t r y Arrange f o r t h e resources necessary t o c a r r y on a q u a l i t y program, i e f a c u l t y time and commitment, some f i n a n c i a l support t o cover e x t r a s such a s away-from-home room c o s t and perhaps t r a v e l expenses College course c r e d i t i s d e s i r a b l e 4 Promote p o s s i b i l i t i e s t o good students s t a r t i n g w i t h upper l e v e l undergraduates 5 P a r t i c u l a r l y i n t h e beginning s t a g e s, discuss course and experience objectives w i t h key p l a n t personnel Provide some thoughts on ways it might b e s t be handled in t h e p l a n t Discuss t h e ground r u l e s on what types of information can be made a v a i l a b l e and w h a t i s considered p r o p r i e t a r y information Orientation of students p r i o r t o work experience i s very important I n s t r u c t o r conference with student and p l a n t person during t h e experience i s suggested 79 Encourage students t o take t h e i n i t i a t i v e Much of what they gain w i l l be due t o t h e i r own i n q u i s i t i v e n e s s 8 Require some form of student evaluation of h i s experience If p o s s i b l e, have a copy o f w r i t t e n r e p o r t s s e n t t o p l a n t contact person 9 Have p l a n t personnel b r i e f l y evaluate t h e experience 0 Don't be discouraged by i n d i v i d u a l inadequacies or f a i l u r e s Try t o prevent them next t h e I n conclusion, t h e need f o r more p r a c t i c a l, on-the-job work study o r i n t e r n s h i p programs i n a u n i v e r s i t y education i s a p p r e n t A s indicated by survey r e t u r n s, u n i v e r s i t y meats personnel overwhelmingly would provide g r e a t e r s u p p r t f o r t h e s e programs are : Questions that now need t o be answered a t your own i n s t i t u t i o n How can we put together a q u a l i t y program with t h e necessary t h e, money and o t h e r resources required? How do we g e t t h e right people involved and sold on t h e program so it i s a cooperative, e f f e c t i v e e f f o r t? What can we do t o i n t e r e s t t h e outstanding student t o consider t h e s e p o s s i b i l i t i e s and u l t i m a t e l y a career i n t h e meat industry?