Intellicom Featured in Open for Business Magazine

publish date: July 17, 2015

Bryan Kuntz Intellicom VP of Operations bkuntz@lntellicominc.com 308-234-6645

Bryan has over 20 years of experience in marketing and management. His prior experience includes working in a leadership capacity for Affiliated Computer Services.

Can you describe the benefits for companies to forge a positive working relationship with local educational Institutions?
Thriving companies typically have a continual need for new employees. Local educational institutions provide a pool of potential employees that is both ample and desirable. A positive working relationship  between the company and the educational institution allows access to potential employees and allows the  university to provide their students with access to real world experiences.

Recently, experiential learning has become more popular in colleges and even high school, how does this make an impact on the labor force?
At the high school level, I think it is all about career awareness, career exploration and preparing them for making decisions upon graduation. Encouraging students to familiarize themselves with different career options can better prepare them for malting decisions upon graduation. At the college level, I believe internships are pivotal in connecting academic learning with real world application. Students who pursue internships at the college level leave their programs of study better prepared to enter the workforce and really make an impact.

Why Is it necessary for companies and colleges to partner when it comes to Science, Technology, Engineering & Math {STEM) education?
There is value for companies and education institutions to partner in all areas of academic study. The reason that STEM education is getting a lot of attention today is that the amount of STEM related jobs is forecasted to grow in the future, yet, at the same time the interest in STEM careers is waning. There is a real concern of having enough graduates to fill all of the projected STEM-related job openings in the future. The positive outcome of partnering with high-schools and post secondary institutions is that by exposing our young people to STEM careers, we can reverse this trend.

Describe the challenges and benefits of offering an internship program.
Like anything else, you will get out of it what you are willing to put into it. Creating a meaningful internship program takes a fair amount of planning, commitment and time, but the long term benefits are more than worthwhile. The goal of an internship program is to help create a better all-around learning experience for the student. The student will have the opportunity to learn more about your company and the industry in general and a have the ability to apply the principles that they have learned in the classroom. The benefit of hiring an intern after their completed internship is that you've had the opportunity to work side-by-side with them throughout the course of the internship and know about their work ethic, skills and abilities. Also, you have the advantage of already being through much of the learning curve that you experience with a new hire which can be lengthy and sometimes costly.

How has your involvement In UNK's Business and Technology program enabled you to have a pivotal role in the students' educations?
Intellicom's involvement with the College of Business and Technology at UNK has focused on reinforcing concepts that the students are learning in class. It is our belief that private business can help make the classroom learning even more impactful by sharing with the students how they might apply these concepts in a business setting.

How have the UNK students responded to the hands-on opportunities and involvement from lntellicom?
UNK has responded tremendously to Intellicom's desire to be involved on campus. The faculty and administration have been very appreciative and more than supportive. The students enjoy the real world perspective we can lend to their classroom learning and our interns love the opportunity to apply what they have learned while interning. The rate of turning interns into employees is evidence of this impact. Most interns have actually transitioned into Intellicom employees after doing an internship.

Creating Educational Partnerships with Local Colleges

1. Build a relationship with a local institution and program of study that fits with your business. Let them know you want to get involved!

2. Start an internship program.

3. Sit on panel discussions regarding your field, join an advisory board at the school or judge a senior project or independent study project.

4. Offer to attend a student organization's meeting. Buy pizza and answer student questions about your field and business.

5. Open your business up for tours and job shadowing opportunities.

6. Donate time, money, or equipment to fill a need the school may have.

"I had completed my internship at Intellicom during the summer of 2013. During this period, I was involved in multiple projects such as data cabling, security camera installations, wireless implementations, as well as PC and server deployment. Every day I was involved in something different and I love it. This internship helped me determine that this was the exact line of work in which I wanted to be. Not only was it beneficial to learn hands-on how to complete these technical tasks, but it was also self-gratifying to know that I helped improve people's lives with the types of technology that we sell."

Lance Satur
Intellicom Intern, 2013