Goal: Workforce Development
The complement to a focus on student performance, and having our students achieve their higher education goals, is to also prepare them to be innovative industry leaders that will use Maverick Thinking to solve the problems of tomorrow, today.
NU President Ted Carter recently stated that workforce shortages is one of the toughest challenges facing Nebraska today. Being located in the state’s economic engine means UNO has a key role to play in meeting that challenge head on.
But establishing a commitment to workforce development is not just supporting those who already have their sights set on a higher education. It also includes bringing to the table those who think that college is not for them as well as those who may have already attended college but are looking to be lifelong learners.
To meet this challenge, we have the following objectives:
Provide work experience opportunities to every student.
Through internships, job shadowing, assistanceships, and more, we must commit to preparing our students to contribute to their communities. This is why we have launched programs like Career Connect, featuring more than 60 employers and counting that have guaranteed to provide paid internships for our students.
Build an educational infrastructure around microcredentialling and badging.
Not every student is seeking a four-year degree. Lifelong learning does not stop when you graduate. In support of our city and state we will become the standard bearer of affordability, accessibility, and achievement when it comes to upskilling and re-skilling our workforce. This includes thinking in new ways about offering certifications, credentialing, and badging that pulls from the expertise of our world-class faculty.
Build up our physical infrastructure to strengthen our ties to our community.
UNO has a long history of serving the community. But to live up to the promise that Omaha is our Campus we also cannot let geographic borders limit our visibility and presence throughout the city and our state. Investment in our campus’ physical footprint and growing our physical connectivity to the rest of the city is vital to our city’s economic, social, and intellectual development.