By Brittany Hutson
The Great Recession may be over but the 14.8 million of people out of work could care less. College graduates of the last two years were met with dismal expectations, as many received their degrees only to have to join the ranks of the unemployed soon thereafter.
Fortunately, for the graduating class of 2011, the job outlook seems to be positive. The Job Outlook 2011 Fall Preview, a survey conducted by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), says that employers expect to hire 13.5 percent more grads from the upcoming class than they hired from the Class of 2010.
This should mean good news for students of Historically Black Colleges and Universities, many of which are concluding their career fair season. Florida A&M University’s career center director Dr. Delores Dean says 102 companies attended their September career fair and all were hiring. This number is a slight increase in the number of companies that attended last year, she said. At Howard University, Dr. Joan Browne, director of the Center for Career Education, Development & Research (CEDAR) Center said the university typically holds a two-day fair because of high company demand. She said 143 companies registered for their recent fair.
The number of companies jetting to university campuses may be holding steady but the outcome of the recruitment process tells a different story. In 2007, the Thurgood Marshall College Fund released a study that concluded there was a disproportionate number of gradates hired from HBCUs in contrast to predominately white institutions. The study found that out of 31 college students that were hired, only four were HBCU graduates. Unfortunately, this disparity still exists few years later.
“The problem is that many corporations and many Americans for that matter don’t know what HBCUs are and are not aware of the contributions these institutions are making to society and to individuals,” said Dr. Marybeth Gasman, an associate professor in higher education at the Graduate School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania.
“Companies need to understand the proven track record that HBCUs have in terms of preparing students with confidence and well-rounded skills that can be used in the workplace.”
