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Employability: A National Imperative
December 4, 2017 @ 9:00 am - 4:00 pm


In association with the Commission on Higher Education & Employability, NEBHE held its Employability: A National Imperative summit on Monday, Dec. 4, 2017 at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.
Expert speakers explored these and other pressing questions…
- What kinds of jobs will be eliminated by the rise of analytics, automation and artificial intelligence? What kinds will be created?
- Will higher education be able to innovate new roles to ensure that grads are “career ready”?
- Can “People Analytics” help job applicants and employers speak the same language?
- How will we bridge the “employability gap” facing students who lack the competencies to navigate successful and long-lasting careers
Our feedback suggests the conference was a great success, from the engaging discussion during plenary and concurrent sessions to the comments shared throughout the day. We are pleased the conference appeared to bring together the right people and provided an opportunity for you to share your thoughts, questions and expertise.
Video: Highlights
Welcome from Gina M. Raimondo, Governor of Rhode Island
Gov. Gina M. Raimondo greeted the audience in a pre-taped video address:
Eastern Connecticut State University President Elsa Núñez led a session at the Dec. 4 Summit about the Commission on Higher Education & Employability’s “Equity Imperative.” NEBHE aims to ensure that the Commission’s workforce vision serves all New Englanders … as a matter of social justice, but also as a matter of sound economics in the slow-growing region. Here, Núñez recounts her internship work with students who may not have cars or other resources to capitalize on off-campus work-integrated learning …
… and her work with Cigna Executive Vice President Mark Boxer, whose company gets diversity and new talent …
and suggests that institutions should help first-generation students practice ways to describe their work …
Video: Full sessions
The morning pleneary session featuring Scott Carlson of The Chronicle of Higher Education, Northeastern University President Joseph E. Aoun, Fidelity Investments Senior Vice President (Talent Acquisition Group) Tara Amaral and General Dynamics Electric Boat Vice President of Human Resources & Administration Maura Dunn.
Materials and presentations
Click on each speaker’s name below to view and download a PDF version of their PowerPoint presentation featured at the conference:
- David Daniels, President, Academic Partnerships
- Laurie Lachance, President, Thomas College
- The combined presentations offered by the panel of: Susan Brennan, Associate Vice President of University Career Services, Bentley University; Robert A. DiMuccio, Chairman, President and CEO, Amica Mutual Insurance Company; James R. Lowe, Assistant Vice Provost, Executive Director, Center for Career Development, University of Connecticut; David Kozhuk, Founder & CEO, uConnect and Alexandria Steinmann, Student, Bentley University
- Michael K. Thomas, President and CEO, New England Board of Higher Education
Click below to download various other materials from the conference:
- Proposed recommendations from the Commission on Higher Education & Employability
- The conference agenda
- The attendee list
- The list of speaker biographies
- The list of Commission members
- The Commission’s biographies
Information from NEBHE’s sponsors and partners:
- Academic Partnerships: Brochure
- PSI: Am I Job Ready?
- O’Connor & Drew: Brochure and About our firm
Information about NEBHE’s programs and services:
- About NEBHE
- Tuition Break
- Policy & Research: Themes and Priorities
- State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (SARA)
- The New England Journal of Higher Education
- NEBHE-Chinese Government Scholarship Program
- 2018 Guide to Colleges & Universities
2017 Annual Report
We thank our sponsors for their generous support:
