Life Long Learning Drives the Need for CRM in Vocational Education
Some fifty years ago, around the time that I was born, things were pretty easy. If you wanted become a carpenter you went to the Carpenter School and then you started working at an early age. An older colleague then really taught you the trick of the job, but the basics of the profession didn’t really change. In today’s world, however, a hammer is not just a hammer anymore, and it won’t be long until every nail will be equipped with a sensor. And because of this constant technological innovation, the Carpenter’s trade in constantly changing as well and to stay up-to-date in his profession a carpenter has to return to school on a regular basis, he will have to keep on learning his whole life long.
This trend has a major impact on the delivery of Vocational (or “Professional”) Education. The schools suddenly are positioned in the middle between the corporate world that demands alignment of the programs of study with the latest technological developments and the carpenters who need to be educated over and over again, and therefore need to combine their learning with many other things they do. The carpenters require maximum flexibility and the labor market requires constant innovation. Actually not quite an easy position to be in for these schools… But… CRM is coming to the rescue! By implementing modern customer engagement strategies and by using CRM software for profiling and driving the conversations with both companies and students based on their interests and preferences, institutions of vocational education can reach a higher degree of flexibility while still operating efficiently and in a structured way.
CRM tooling can be used to map the market demand to qualifications and to qualify internship places. Moreover, these systems can be used to actually match students onto internship places and to guarantee optimal engagements of both internship companies and students.
Communication preferences can be recorded in a CRM system and the profile and preference information recorded can be used to personalize the communication and dialogs with both companies and students.
CRM strategies and supporting software systems are a MUST for institutions of vocational education to be able to align the externally driven demand for innovation and flexibility with internal processes and effective communication.
CRM FOR EDUCATION 