The primary mission of colleges 1

The primary mission of colleges and universities should be preparing students for the workforce

Osamu Kaiya

University of North Florida

English Language Program
Level5 NC Writing class
Peggy Armstrong
04/02/2012

The primary mission of colleges 2

The primary mission of colleges and universities should be preparing students for the workforce:

Many people not satisfy result of study in a university because universities focus on too
much to the basic academic topics not practical subjects which are useful after enter to the
company. Whenever we talk about purpose of studying in a university, some say its a getting
academic knowledge, on the other hand, the other say its a getting a useful knowledge for
special area to use in the company. Which opinion is correct that the primary mission of colleges
and universities should be preparing students for the workforce or should be concentrating for
the studying of academic topics? This issue is important because many people suffer from lack of
knowledge for their field after enter to the company, because most education in universities are
too theoretical which arent makes students employable. Therefore almost all new employees
arent prepared to work. Not everybody knows making students employable in a university and
college is extremely important. After enter to the company just only one or two years students
have to work in their special field. Therefore, students must acquire enough not only theoretical
knowledge but also practical knowledge and skills before graduating from university.
I personally graduated from university with mechanical engineering bachelor degree.
After that I worked at pharmaceutical companys production plant as mechanic two years and as
engineer three years. These two job are seems suitable for me, because my major and my actual
these jobs have close relationship each other. In spite of this similarity between my subject and
professional field, I suffered from immatureness skill for my job. When I was a university
student I almost didnt touch any machines, tools, and materials related to the mechanical

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engineering in class. I studied theory, logic and basic overview of my major, mainly from
teachers and text books. Therefore first two years I couldnt do any actual mechanic job at the
company. I think having ready to work during the university is very important for students. I can
say from my experience education in university is too theoretical, so new employees arent
prepared to work. Also there needs to be a link between laboratories or workshop and
universities.
In the dialogue from article of National education association web site (2009), Karen
Baehler was asked that Is the purpose of college to make students employable? She answered
Yes, as college instructors; our mission is to increase our students life opportunities. She
although mentioned that My mission is to ensure that my students are prepared for the world
beyond school. The free ride eventually ends. Being ready for life means getting a good solid
education whether it is at a trade school, community college, or university. I agree with her
opinion. In the school we need to learn whole subjects as much as we could from fundamental
academic matters to advanced pragmatic subjects in special field. Ready to be a qualified person
to enter to the company before graduated from university is mandatory for all college students
and to provide appropriate environments to get enough skill is duty and also mission for all
universities.
On the contrary, Daniel Rieger answered to the same question that No, higher education
must have more of a purpose than making students employable. In addition he pointed out that
Since we possess these capacities for a lifetime, the primary purpose of higher education must
be to provide a foundation for educating the whole person; it must be geared to develop as fully
as possible the whole of a students human potential. Developing workforce skills does not

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necessarily entail fostering inquiry, reflection, understanding, integration, or creative expression.

Consequently, higher education must have more of a purpose than simply making students
employable. I could understand his opinion, however his thought seems idealistic. Point of
view from my experience, I think real world is very tough to new comer who just graduated from
college. If the people dont have necessary skill to their job they definitely encounter to the
obstacle which need long term hard work to overcome.
By Ronald B. Standler Why Attend College? web site (2004), He mentioned that I
think the goals of education should be: To prepare students to learn on their own, by reading
books and by doing experiments. Anyone with a bachelor's degree should be able to teach
themselves whatever technical skill(s) they may need. I agree with his opinion. Every student
should study not only on the desk but they also should study in another place, for example
research laboratories and workplaces. In addition, having technical skills that to be able to teach
others are very important to students. If you cant teach technical skill to other, its means he or
she doesnt understand yet. In other words, they arent employable and not yet ready to work in
the company.
One of the good methods to get job skills before graduating from university is internship.
By the internship work, student can get real job experience. In Careerealism web site, 6 Reasons
Internships Are a Must in College (2012); we can find six useful reasons for internship. One of
the reasons is Get the Experience Employers Want they describe that There are millions of
job seekers nationwide, yet 52% of U.S. companies report difficulty filling positions. Of these
companies, 47% say candidates lack the hard job skills or technical skills necessary, and 35%
say job seekers lack in experience. Get the experience they crave by completing an internship.

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Better yet, complete multiple internships. I agree with this thought. Visiting work place and
having real job is fantastic opportunity for students who dont have experience yet.
In conclusion,

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Reference:
Martin Luther King Speeches: Excerpts from King's most famous addresses. Retrieved February
22, 2012, from the infoplease, All the knowledge you need Web site:
http://www.infoplease.com/spot/mlkspeeches.html