University of Management and Technology Works Closely with Professional Associations to Prepare Students to Be Job Ready

In the job market, students who demonstrate professional capabilities stand out.— J. Davidson Frame, UMT Academic Dean

ROSSLYN, VA, USA, April 10, 2018 / EINPresswire.com / -- The University of Management and technology (UMT) is pleased to announce its academic partnership with American Society for Engineering Management (ASEM). This partnership provides student membership to help preparing UMT students in engineering management degree studies with satisfactory academic performance to be job ready. UMT has been closely working with various professional and industrial associations to better prepare future workforce.

Fifty years ago, the basic education you needed to get a good job was a high school diploma. Over the years, things changed. With increases in global competition, high paying jobs in manufacturing faded away. As decent-paying jobs in the service sector increased, they demanded that the workforce be educated beyond the high school diploma. College enrollments grew. By 1990, a bachelor's degree replaced the high school diploma as a basic meal ticket. The trend continues, pushed by global competition and the increased complexity of technology products and processes. Jobs that offer good pay increasingly require students to go beyond the bachelor's. Today, a third of the population has a bachelor's degree. A master's degree has provided more edge in getting jobs.

Getting more credentials is how the game is played. No one familiar with the needs of the workplace seriously believes that these credentials are really necessary to do much of the work that gets done in America. But they become a differentiator. For example, when filling a job slot for a bookkeeper, if you see one candidate with a bachelor's degree and another with a master's, the latter has an advantage because of the additional credential.

Employer preference for credentials now differentiates who gets the job even among master's degree holders. If job-seekers can show they have augmented their education beyond the master's, this gives them an advantage. Today, among non-degree credentials, professional certifications are hot. For example, in project management, getting a lucrative job may require both a master's degree and certification as a PMP (Project Management Professional). Certifications such as the PMP require substantial prep work on the part of the certificant. They don't guarantee that job applicants will do an excellent job as project managers, but they demonstrate that they have mastered the body of knowledge excellent project managers possess. The fixation on credentials doesn't end here. Currently, digital badges are hot. In education, they take the form of micro-credentials. If you take a three-day course on Scrum, you may be awarded a Scrum badge, or a two-day course on supply chain management might earn you a SCM badge. As with more robust certifications, badges can differentiate between job applicants.

At UMT, we recognize that competition for good jobs is brutal, and that people seeking them need to distinguish themselves from the crowd. While working on their degree programs, we alert students to certifications and digital badges they should be aware of. We mentor students: they don't simply take courses to earn a grade, but are mentored to approach their study area as professionals. The mentoring process varies from area to area. For example, as an academic partner of American Society for Engineering Management, UMT nominates students in its engineering management degree programs to become student members in ASEM, where they have full access to ASEM's engineering management website as well as access to its wide range of publications. The cost of student membership is covered by UMT. With this connection, students can see how working engineering managers operate. By the time students complete their program, not only have they studied engineering management and business management subjects, but they understand which pertinent credentials can give them an edge and they develop a sense of how the engineering management profession functions. This approach is employed by all UMT academic programs. In the job market, UMT students who demonstrate professional capabilities stand out.

About UMT: The University of Management and Technology is an accredited university located in Arlington VA. Since 1998, UMT has built a strong global higher learning community through its online and distance education. Geographical boundaries do not limit UMT and its students who reside in 50 states, the District of Columbia, 4 US territories of the United States, and 78 countries worldwide. As of April 2018, UMT has provided various levels of education programs to 23,750 students. Of these, 12,600 have earned their degrees from UMT.

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