Handshake: An Entrance for Higher Education Students into the Regional Workforce

The Capital Region has more than 58,000 students in higher education institutions – they should be low-hanging fruit in aiding our tight labor market

As is the case in most of the country, businesses in the Capital Region are having a tough time filling their incredibly high number of job openings. While there were more than 29,000 job postings last month, data shows that there were only about 13,300 residents in the metro out of work and looking for employment – meaning there are about 2.2 job openings for ever local resident that may be looking.

One way in which BRAC and its higher education partners are trying to alleviate this pain point is through Handshake, an early talent recruiting platform. All traditional two- and four-year institutions in the Capital Region are continuously encouraging students to create an account, and as of mid-year there were nearly 32,000 student accounts. This is a huge pool of young talent available to any Capital Region employer for free. The service is especially helpful for smaller organizations that may not have the budget to compete in on-campus recruiting, or a traditional human resources department in-house.

Over one year in, BRAC has published a report that goes over the platform’s year-over-year growth in terms of participation. The data shows that the platform is becoming more ubiquitous with local employers. For instance, more than 3,414 employers are recruiting from LSU through handshake, an increase of 32% over the same time last year. Southern has also seen a big increase in employer activity, up 42%. The types of employers posting also reflect what we see in terms of job openings overall – healthcare, construction, and manufacturing are among the sectors with the most job postings on Handshake.

There is, however, one area in which Handshake can be better used by the business community, which may also benefit the region overall: internships. While there may be thousands of full-time jobs posted on the platform at any time, there are only a few hundred internships. Internships are important for employers, as it allows them to make a relationship with developing talent before their career starts in earnest and gives the employer the opportunity to help teach things like soft skills and workplace etiquette. And by helping students plant roots and begin their professional network here in the Baton Rouge metro area, it increases the probability that the students stay and begin their career in earnest in the region upon graduation. A recent BRAC survey of business leaders in the community showed that talent without requisite experience and losing candidates to other markets are two of the biggest workforce issues in the Capital Region, and internships are a lower-cost way to mitigate those factors.

If your business is interested in posting open positions on Handshake, more information can be found here. If you’re interested in creating an internship for your business, feel free to reach out to Maggi Spurlock, BRAC’s Director of Talent Development, at maggi@brac.org.