Recent full-tuition scholarship offerings by the state of Minnesota, North Dakota State University in Fargo, and Concordia College in Moorhead, MN, are recognizing the high cost of higher education and taking significant steps toward making it more affordable for students. Employers can take part in reducing tuition costs for students at schools across our region while simultaneously securing future workforce though sponsorships coordinated through Golden Path Solutions.
Sponsorships are agreements made between employers like you and high school students. Your company pays for a specified amount of a student’s postsecondary tuition (anything from a small amount to full tuition) in exchange for a work agreement (a promise by that student to work for your company for a set amount of time.)
Sponsorships are an outstanding way for you to make a difference in the lives of a student by helping with their tuition costs, fostering a long-term career path at your company, and showing that you are invested in their future.
But sponsorships also hold tremendous value for you as an employer. Here’s how:
Secure future workforce with your desired skills and education
Through a sponsorship, your company will build a relationship with a student who is interested in your company and driven to pursue a career path with you. This relationship fosters opportunities to guide students through the education they need to be successful at your company, building a future workforce that you can depend on. Your investment now will pay off in a few years when you have a new employee who is prepared, excited about their career, and confident that it is a good fit.
Build a workforce more effectively than traditional methods
For employers, sponsorships can be more effective than the traditional cycle of hiring, training, and attrition. By investing in a student’s education before they work for you, your company is able to guide their education and training from the very start. Sponsorships also help students explore a career long before they step into it, ensuring that by the time they graduate, they are ready and committed to a long-term career path with you. Sponsorships can help you avoid the repetition of training new employees only for them to discover the career isn’t what they wanted.
Guide students to the specific programs, degrees, or certifications they need
Through a sponsorship, your company has an opportunity to encourage a student to attend a specific school or program in preparation for a career with you. You are already familiar with the regional school offerings that best support career roles at your company and you can offer sponsorships for those programs. This ensures that students will have the specific degree, training, or certification they need to confidently step into their new roles. You won’t be left wondering what additional training they might need.
Partner with students throughout their postsecondary education
Sponsorships provide a meaningful way to connect with students throughout their postsecondary education. Beyond the tuition support and work agreement, you can partner with students through everything from internships and co-ops to mentorship opportunities and summer jobs. These experiences enable students to learn more about your company, see their intended career in action, envision themselves working in that role, and prepare for their job following graduation.
Don’t pay for all of the sponsorship costs on your own
The ND Career Builders scholarship can help you with sponsorship costs by providing matching funds for in-demand jobs. ND Career Builders is a workforce development tool for businesses to recruit and retain employees within North Dakota. Up to $8,500 in matching dollars are available for each student scholarship, which your company can use to cover the cost of a sponsorship.
“More than 300 recipients have benefitted from the program since its beginning, resulting in more than $2.4 million in scholarships,” said Brenda Zastoupil, financial aid director for the North Dakota University System, program administrator for ND Career Builders. “We encourage North Dakota businesses to reach out to learn more about this collaboration.”
For more information on ND Career Builders and how the scholarship could help with your sponsorships, contact ndfinaid@ndus.edu.
In this time of high postsecondary costs, sponsorships are an excellent way to support students’ futures while also making a wise investment in your future workforce. These partnerships enable you to play a meaningful role in guiding students’ educations to best prepare them for a long-term career at your company. For more information about sponsorships, contact info@goldenpath.net.