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Employer Perspectives on Preparing the Next Generation of Fish and Wildlife Professionals

This presentation by Steve McMullin from Virginia Tech addresses the growing concerns about the readiness of graduates for careers in fish and wildlife conservation. Through surveys of various stakeholders, including employers and faculty, the session explores perceived gaps in essential skills, like critical thinking and communication. It highlights the necessity for more interdisciplinary undergraduate programs and calls for collaboration among universities, employers, and professional societies to improve training and curricular standards.

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Employer Perspectives on Preparing the Next Generation of Fish and Wildlife Professionals

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  1. Employer Perspectives on Preparing the Next Generation of Fish and Wildlife Professionals Steve L. McMullin Department of Fish & Wildlife Conservation Virginia Tech smcmulli@vt.edu

  2. Background and Objectives • Frequent complaints: graduates not adequately prepared for jobs as F&W professionals • Employer, student & faculty perceptions: • What is important in determining career success? • Proficiency of recent entry-level hires • What to do & who should do it

  3. “Too few schools offer good instruction in the field operations of wildlife management and administration; too many offer indifferent training in wildlife science and research.” Aldo Leopold, 1939

  4. Recurring Themes • BS/BA inadequate to prepare students for professional work • Broad interdisciplinary undergraduate programs • Save specialization for graduate work • Focus on critical thinking, communication • “People” skills: human dimensions, policy, interpersonal communication, teams • Too much focus on research, not enough on job skills and management

  5. A Plethora of Options • 526 North American institutions offer courses in wildlife or related fields (Wallace & Baydack 2009) • 430 schools offer fisheries or related courses, >200 more with environmental programs (AFS 2014)

  6. Research Questions • Most important knowledge & skills for early career success as a professional? • Student and faculty perceptions of how well academic programs prepare young professionals • Employer perceptions of proficiency of recent entry-level hires • What to do & who should do it?

  7. Surveys of TWS & AFS Members • TWS survey • State agencies (n=418) • Fed agencies (n=342) • NGOs (n=111) • Private (n=235) • Faculty (n=218) • AFS survey • State agencies (n=472) • Fed agencies (n=227) • NGOs (n=55) • Private (n=192) • Faculty (n=184) • Students (n=231) (Stauffer & McMullin 2009) (McMullin et al. in prep)

  8. Importance to Early Career Success? • Critical thinking skills • Oral communication skills • Written communication skills • Working in teams • Fish/Wildlifecourses • Biological sciences • Physical sciences • Math & statistics • Human dimensions >> All topics rated at least somewhat important

  9. Importance vs. Proficiency (Employers)

  10. Perceptions of Proficiency: Students, Faculty, Employers Undergraduates, Faculty & Employers Masters students, Faculty & Employers

  11. Who should be most responsible for addressing deficiencies? Societies Universities Employers • Critical thinking • Writing skills • Speaking skills • Technical knowledge • Field skills • Working in teams • Nontechnical communication • Establish standards • Provide opportunities for education, communication, networking

  12. Perceived Effectiveness of Strategies for Enhancing KSAs

  13. Challenges for Academia • Faculty: • Curricular changes & limits on total credits • Costs of experiential learning • Time required to improve comm. Skills • Students/employees: • Gaining experience • Life-long learning

  14. Challenges for Employers • Increased expectations must be consistent with educational requirements • Don’t expect finished products • Invest in employees • Work with universities on curricula, research

  15. Challenges for Professional Societies • Keep certification requirements current • Offer low-cost training opportunities

  16. Acknowledgements • TWS Ad-hoc Committee on Collegiate Wildlife Programs • AFS Special Committee on Education Requirements • TWS & AFS—funding support • Vic DiCenzo

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