Preparing students for the workplace

According to a report by National Center for Education Statistics*, over 40% of students enrolling in a two-year college do so with the express goal of acquiring or improving jobs skills. Whether you are incorporating employability skills into a chemistry-based technology program or adding value to a transfer program, the following resources can help you prepare your students for the workplace.

• ACS Guidelines for Chemistry in Two-Year College Programs
  A comprehensive model for chemistry education at two-year colleges
• Partnerships for improving education
  Information, tools, and advice for creating and growing collaborative partnerships between education and industry

• ACS Webinars^TM
  Free on-line seminars with leaders in chemical sciences, management, and business on relevant professional topics (See also, recordings from the ACS Careers Industry Forum)
• Professional skills
  Resources to help incorporate such skills as communication, safety, and ethics into the curriculum
• Research and internships
  Resources to help faculty provide and/or find valuable workplace experiences for their students
• Student skills for success
  Toolkit to bring together students, employers, and faculty to discuss the skills that really matter in the workplace
  

• Process technology course objectives*
  Course objectives for the PTEC™ process technology curriculum, developed by North American Process Technology Alliance
• Skill standards: biotechnology*
  Biotechnology skill standards compiled by Bio-Links, an NSF Advanced Technological Education (ATE) Center

• Careers & the Chemical Sciences
  Information for undergrads on a variety of careers in the chemical sciences
  
• O*NET online*
  Career and skill information from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• CTE™ Career Clusters*
  Curriculum resources for careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics from the National Association of State Directors of Career Technical Education Consortium (NASDCTEc)
• WorkKeys*
  ACT’s system for identifying workplace knowledge and skills and incorporating them into a curriculum

* These resources are provided for informational purposes only. Listing of a product or service on this website does not constitute an endorsement by ACS.

Have a question? Want to suggest a resource? Contact the ACS Undergraduate Programs Office (1-800-227-5558, ext. 6108).