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The Business-School Business
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Business New Haven
12/4/1995
By: Lori Green
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It takes a sharp eye to spot industries where jobs are likely to sprout up next. Success in today's business-school business depends on delivering competent workers to markets hungry for skilled and semi-skilled labor.
One school has been doing this for more than a century. Since its founding in 1864 as the U.S. College of Business and Finance, Stone Academy of Hamden has continued to expand its curricula into new high-tech and service fields. “Not everyone is meant to go to college,” says Stone's president and co-owner, Janet Arena. “These people need to develop skills that will get them into the job market quickly - and keep them there.”
All Stone students receive training in keyboard skills and English grammar, punctuation and business writing. Fifty-five percent of incoming students come to Stone from referrals, either through individuals or agencies such as the Private Industry Council. The cost of Stone training ranges from $7,500 to $10,000.
Stone's placement rate for its 425 students is about 80 percent, says Arena, with the majority going to businesses in state. Stone's placement director is in daily contact with employers, relaying their needs and feedback directly to school administrators.
Stone is one of only two Connecticut schools offering court-reporter certification. Although the school offers as many varieties of financial aid as a university or college, Arena believes that the single greatest obstacle for people trying to get ahead is child care.
“Eighty percent of our enrollees are women, and our students range in age from 20 to 35 years old,” says Arena. “When a person is seeking out an education, we should salute her and do everything we can to help her.”
In its present location Stone occupies 16,000 square feet; the school is actively looking at sites that would provide it with 25,000 square feet in or around Hamden or North Haven.
School for Brokers
Current or aspiring real-estate agents can receive an education at the New Haven Real Estate School, owned by the Greater New Haven Association of Realtors. Approved by the state's Real Estate Commission, the school offers 20 courses on most facets of the real-estate business, from ethics to property management.
Says Administrator Frederick M. (Ted) Mansfield, “There have been a lot of changes in how agents operate in the past couple of years, so we encourage working agents to come in for continuing education courses, as well as provide preparation for the licensing exam.”
The school was established in 1983 during the heady days of the regional real-estate boom. Demand for real-estate licenses was at an all-time high. The market collapse of 1987 thinned out the school's enrollment for some years, but now that real estate is gradually returning to life there are more students in class. Classes today average 15 students, most of whom go on to take their licensing exam once they have completed required coursework.
Prospective Realtors study the business from both residential and commercial perspectives. One course, “Business Brokerage,” covers transactions involving sales or purchases of businesses themselves (not just the land they sit on).
A new type of relationship between a buyer and agent, known as “buyer agent,” now evolving throughout the state is also addressed in the program. In this contract between buyer and agent, buyers have the option of paying a broker a flat fee for services rather than a commission. Tax-reform issues and real-estate contract law classes are offered as part of the school's continuing education series.
The school does little marketing, since most of its students are already working in the business and are referred by local Realtors. To become a Realtor you pay as you go - the New Haven Real Estate School offers no financial aid. Course fees range from $35 to $200 per.
Nurturing Careers on the Shoreline
Since moving into a new 21,000-square-foot facility a few years ago, Branford Hall has grown from training a student body of 50 to its current enrollment of 300. “The strategy is to increase programs and concentrate on computer training,” says spokesman Bruce Alexander. “We expect by next year to be able to grant associate degrees in addition to certificates.”
Branford Hall is owned by the Connecticut Education Co., whose principal is Andrew Yao, a Philadelphia investment banker who hails from Fairfield.
Certificates can now be earned to qualify as a paralegal, medical assistant, administrative assistant, bookkeeper or computer operator. “Our job placement program promises a lifetime of service,” says Alexander. “If someone were to call up who completed training here 28 years ago and just got fired, we would help him or her find a new job.” The school conducts annual surveys of 5,000 physicians and attorneys to be sure that its training is meeting the changing needs of the professional workplace.
Women comprise 80 percent of the student body (with the exception of paralegal studies, which has about a 50-50 split). Many students have backgrounds that include emotional or economic hardship. “We have a student here now who walks five miles to and from school every day to save money,” says Alexander. “The admissions office tries to makes sure that day care or personal situations will not interfere with an applicant's ability to succeed here.”
The paralegal program takes nine months to complete and the medical assistant certificate one year. Branford Hall boasts a 92-percent placement rate of graduates in career-related positions. These are sought by direct mail and personal contact; some are referred through the Private Industry Council. The school remains committed to its Branford operation but is also considering expanding to another market.
Alexander says the school's future is promising, despite the growing drain of young people from Connecticut in search of opportunities elsewhere. “There is going to be greater demand for re-training employees,” he explains. Tomorrow's jobs will demand more generalized talents and flexible skills, including the ability to find and apply information - e.g., undertaking research on the Internet for a doctor or lawyer.
Aye, Robot
Young people continue to leave the New Haven area in search of jobs. But if they like tinkering with stereo components or poking around inside computers, there's a stack of job descriptions in a binder on Peter Leone's desk they might want to look over before getting on I-95.
Leone, director of the New Haven-based Connecticut School of Electronics (CSE), says, “The two main growth industries in need of the electronic technicians we train are the computer and peripherals industries and industrial automation - robotics.” Training is also provided in the operation, troubleshooting and repair of telecommunications equipment, microprocessors, as well as digital devices and systems.
Founded in 1947, CSE is the oldest electronics school in the state. For years the school has contracted with local employers to provide students with on-site training, which gives the latter not only technical experience but also a taste of what it is like to function as a technician in the workplace.
“We've run this program with Dresser Industries, Duracell and STC, among others,” notes Leone. Also, partnerships with companies such as Eastman-Kodak bring industry experts into the classroom as instructors.
Nearly 80 percent of CSE's student body are males between the ages of 18 and 30. Assistance such as financial aid, car pooling, housing and tutoring supports students through the 12- or 24-month diploma programs. Employers who have hired CSE graduates meet annually at the school to review and help update curricula, textbooks and equipment.
Industry growth, combined with the school's ability to keep pace (often at considerable expense) with state-of-the-art technologies has resulted in a job placement rate for graduates of 95 percent, according to Leone.
CSE has done little marketing or advertising in the past, but plans are in progress to increase exposure in the market. “Most of our students come in from referrals by friends or employers,” Leone explains. “[Others] hear about us from government agencies or schools.” After nearly five decades on its current site on Ella T. Grasso Boulevard, the school is considering a move to larger quarters to accommodate more students and equipment.
Even robots.
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