Great Lakes Wire

As the president of Michigan’s third-largest university, I frequently engage with business owners across the state. Whether it’s an international company with thousands of employees or a family-owned business in a small town, I consistently hear, “We need talent and we need it now!”

Currently, education leaders, the business community, and elected officials are collaborating on numerous plans and strategies to help Michigan shape its future economy with the goal of becoming a top 10 state. Achieving this requires a talent pipeline filled with workers who possess both job skills and critical thinking abilities to quickly adapt to their roles. This need inspired the Laker Accelerated Talent Link. Grand Valley State University (GVSU) co-created this unique work-and-learning partnership with business leaders to offer students a customized learning experience while meeting immediate and long-term talent demands.

Talent Link pairs Grand Valley students with companies to provide an enhanced paid internship experience that accelerates the onboarding process through directed education and embedding high-demand certifications in areas like digital marketing and project management. By co-building this program, we ensure that benefits focus on areas of highest need for students and companies. These include students earning a certificate related to the business alongside their degree, scholarship support from partner employers, and a good faith working agreement where the student agrees to work for the employer upon completing the internship.

Our first cohort of students is currently working with our founding partners: Acrisure, Amway, Cascade Engineering, Corewell Health, and Michigan Software Labs. Based on early results, we aim to scale the program statewide and are actively seeking new partners to extend this opportunity to more students and help more businesses across Michigan find the talent they need.

Talent Link is designed to be fast, cost-effective, and nimble. The involvement of businesses as partners ensures real-time information on employer needs, allowing us to adjust and expand without years of build-up.

The rollout of Talent Link focused on students in Applied Data Analytics, Business Fundamentals, Project Management, and Technical Sales. For Fall 2024, we’ve added Digital Marketing, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Asset Management/Real Estate, and are exploring additional opportunities based on GVSU's wide range of programs.

Higher education is adapting rapidly due to changing global dynamics. Today’s students differ significantly from those even five years ago; they seek knowledge applicable in their chosen fields and aim for a return on their higher education investment. Students are embracing early connections with potential employers and are eager to work while still studying—setting them up for future success.

We also recognize that neither higher education nor business leaders can predict future skill demands due to rapid changes. Therefore, GVSU students bring liberal arts and sciences education benefits into their Talent Link experience. This education fosters global perspectives, critical thinking for problem-solving, and communication skills necessary for professional success.

With Talent Link, employers access talent earlier while benefiting from an extended onboarding period for future full-time hires. This flexibility allows smoother transitions ensuring employees are fully prepared for their roles. For students, it increases degree value while lowering costs—a win-win situation.

As a public university dedicated to serving our students and regional economy development alike, we take our responsibility seriously in preparing leaders who will guide our state forward.

Regardless of your company size if you’re interested in Talent Link please contact Mallory Brouwer Director of Corporate Partnerships at 616-879-9591 or brouwmal@gvsu.edu.

By Dr. Philomena (Philly) V. Mantella,

President of Grand Valley State University (GVSU); originally published in SBAM’s May/June 2024 issue of FOCUS magazine

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