Can a Student Information System (SIS) support vocational schools in their mission to prepare graduates for well-paying, in-demand careers? The answer is an unequivocal yes, but how do they do it?
These advanced systems are designed to not only optimize operations but also to connect instructors, administrators, career counselors, and even students, with new employment opportunities. Here are the capabilities that make successful job placement possible.
Track Skills and Certifications
SIS platforms give vocational schools the ability to track each student’s development of practical skills and hands-on learning through a combination of courses, certifications, lab work or job training. Administrators and instructors can manage the skills that students learn, and identify any potential areas that may need additional support.
This level of precision tracking helps ensure that students’ skills match relevant job placements, and that employers gain valuable employees without the need for additional support or resources. In this way, employers can trust that graduates have the skills needed to take them from the classroom to the workplace.
Integrated Career Services Options
Today’s modern SIS platforms come equipped with integrated career services options. These give job placement teams and career advisors a centralized hub that lets them manage everything from employer partnerships, to internships and apprenticeships.
By keeping job listings in a centralized location, students can access real-time updates on local employment opportunities while having the flexibility to apply to the roles that best fit their qualifications. Advisors can also see who is applying and if needed, follow up with personalized guidance, maximizing their student placement rates.
Job Matching Features
Custom SIS platforms designed for trade schools can include job-matching features that match students with potential jobs in their area based on their skills, certifications and courses completed. This feature alone can save career advisors hours of time by providing a database of job openings matched to each student’s career goals.
Insights and Analytics on Job Preparedness and Readiness
SIS platforms also deliver deep analytics tools that vocational schools can use to improve their job placement rates. Determine the real career readiness of your students by analyzing:
- Student performance
- Certification completion
- Job placement outcomes
- And more
Administrators can track which programs have the highest placement rates while also identifying any gaps in their current curriculum. This allows for real-time adjustments that mesh with current job market demands, in turn boosting placement rates.
Improved Communication Between Alumni and Employers
Communication between alumni and employers is crucial to high levels of job placement success. Former students can share job openings while giving employers access to even more qualified candidates. Vocational schools also benefit by keeping alumni connected and informed about what’s happening at the institution.
This opens up the opportunity for additional mentorship, referral opportunities and more, creating an ongoing cycle between the industry, local employers and vocational program graduates.
Work-Based and Apprenticeship Tracking and Management
Just as course tracking is used in modern SIS platforms for traditional schools and colleges, so too can vocational schools benefit from tracking and managing work-based learning and apprenticeships.
In this way, employers can see which job-ready skills students are learning and have already grasped, giving them a way to judge progress and better prepare recent graduates for their entry into the workforce.
Getting Started with a Vocational School SIS
Choosing the right SIS for your vocational school is a must in order to reduce your administrative workload while empowering students and instructors with the tools and data they need to make decisions and adjustments with confidence.
Maestro SIS is uniquely designed to meet the challenges of vocational school management by providing an overview and a granular deep-dive into specific areas that simplify and optimize the process, including:
- Custom skill tracking and certification management
- Integrated career services with real-time updates
- Centralized hub for managing employer partnerships, internships and apprenticeships
- Career readiness and preparation analytics based on industry standards
- Ongoing alumni engagement for mentorship and referrals
- Resume folder where students can upload and maintain an up to date resume
- Enhanced communication between students, instructors, career counselors and more
In order for vocational schools of all sizes to boost job placement rates and keep their programs aligned with industry standards, it’s important to have the support they need to not only integrate a SIS, but incorporate it into their existing workflow.
Maestro SIS is uniquely tailored to work with a variety of educational tools and platforms, letting you use the programs you’re familiar and comfortable with, without having to uproot all of your existing systems. Maestro SIS also places particular emphasis on compliance and cybersecurity, keeping personal information private and secure using the latest industry standards.
Getting the Most out of Maestro
Now that you understand how Maestro SIS can work together with your vocational school’s existing digital infrastructure, courses and certifications, what might a Maestro SIS implementation look like?
Our system was built by educators, for educators, which means we’ve taken into consideration the unique needs of vocational schools and their programs to create a full-fledged, comprehensive solution that aligns with their educational and growth objectives.
To that end, we’re proud to offer superior customer support at every stage of the SIS implementation. This includes having your own:
- Dedicated account management team for any questions or concerns you may have at every step of the implementation
- A detailed, easy-to-use administrative training and support system that teaches you how to work with the SIS throughout its implementation
- Access to a ZenDesk trouble ticketing system for any issues that may arise
- Live phone support, group webinars on new features and updates, and full access to help videos and guides
- Release notes of ongoing updates and changes
We offer a detailed implementation plan directly through our website. We invite you to learn more about how our intuitive system works with your existing frameworks to take your vocational school’s growth and outreach to the next level.
