Preparing the work force of tomorrow

EXEControl Global Solutions is a company that adheres to long term planning rather than reacting to the crisis of the moment. In addition, one of the greatest assets of the firm has been the quality of its employees.

When Allan Robison, President and CEO, looked at the number of young people ending their education after completing high school he was alarmed. “Realizing the negative effect this would have on their lives, and to some extent my company, stirred me to start a ‘College and Careers’ class in an effort to encourage the youth to reach higher,” Allan said.
“If you had $1,000,000, what would you do with it?” Allan asks his students each year. “The reality is,” he explains to them, “on average a college graduate will earn $1,000,000 more over the course of their lifetime than someone with only a high school degree.”

According to the US Department of Labor summarized in the table below, computer software application engineers is the fourth fastest growing occupational category, and 70-80% of workers have a college degree, with a graduate degree required for some of the more complex software engineering jobs. In addition, the higher a worker’s education the lower the chance they will be unemployed.

Yet, only 24% of the population earns a Bachelor’s or graduate degree.

It takes a lot of time to put something like this together, and every year Allan tells himself, “I’m not going to do this again next year,” and yet Allan continues to do the College and Careers class. Why? “Teaching this class is very rewarding,” he explained.

Each year at least one student who started the class with no intention of continuing their education has dramatically revolutionized their future with a decision to continue on to higher education. Allan started providing these classes in 2004 and now runs across students from his original classes in various social settings where students will come up and thank him for the class. Many often tell him that the class played a huge roll in their decision toward higher education.

During the class students are taught how to interview for a job, how to write a resume, how to live within their means, how to select a college and how to pay for college. “I think one of the most exciting times is at the end of the semester when we hold a job interview competition where each of the students competes with their peers interviewing for a job of their choice in front of professional recruiters. Not only is it good experience for the students but we provide scholarship money to the top three students.”

The class involves the entire capital district business community. Some companies provide financial support and others volunteer as speakers for the classes.

The local colleges have been a great support of the program. Allan has had many colleges including Union College, Siena College, Russell Sage College, Schenectady County Community College and Skidmore College all participate in the program.

Allan Robison is President & CEO of EXEControl Global Solutions. EXEControl Global Solutions was founded in 1969 to provide software, technology and general business assistance to private sector companies. EXEControl Global Solutions offers business software, business consulting, networking support and services throughout North America. EXEControl Global Solutions is well known as a corporate partner who helps companies use technology to better their business by growing sales, reducing costs, increasing margins and increasing customer satisfaction.