When Dunkin' Brands Group Inc. CEO Nigel Travis took the time on Oct. 5 to speak at Johnson & Wales University, he was modeling behavior that the entire business community could learn from.
His appointment as a distinguished professor at JWU's School of Business meant that his talk and then roundtable discussion with select students are part of an effort by the school to connect its students directly with leaders in their field. In this case it was business, but in the College of Culinary Arts it might be a successful restaurateur.
Both Providence College and the University of Rhode Island have programs as well that are designed to provide mentorship to students through the efforts of the business community. In the case of one PC program, the mentors are young alumni. A URI class connects many retirement-age mentors with students, helping guide their development and preparing them for today's workplace.
When combined with the state's increased effort to support job training and workforce development programs that the business community says it needs, a virtuous pattern emerges.
In today's economy, the approach to developing a 21st-century workforce must be all hands on deck. Yes, our educational institutions, from K-12 through post-graduate, must be aware of what today's workplace requires in terms of skills and interests. But the only sure way for this to happen is if the business community itself steps up and participates in those efforts. •