Welcome back to Degrees of Change. In our first season, we are commemorating the 65th anniversary of California’s 1960 Master Plan for Higher Education by reflecting on its legacy and exploring how its foundational principles can evolve to meet the needs of today’s diverse student population and dynamic economy.
In this episode, we are joined by State Senator Roger Niello, who represents California’s 6th Senate District, which encompasses portions of Sacramento and Placer counties. He brings extensive experience in both business and government, having previously served as the president of the Sacramento Metro Chamber of Commerce and in the California State Assembly. As co-owner of the Niello Company, an automobile dealership he has run with his family for 25 years, and a certified public accountant by training, Senator Niello has consistently leveraged his business expertise to support policies aimed at economic development and job creation.
Senator Niello also serves on the Board of Directors for California Competes.
Today’s conversation examines why business leaders must engage with higher education, what factors contribute to the success or failure of partnerships between employers and colleges, and how we can better prepare students for tomorrow’s jobs, rather than yesterday’s.
This summary captures the core themes; however, the full episode provides added nuance and insight for listeners interested in learning more.
Dr. Jez: As a longtime business and policy leader, why should business leaders care about higher education policy?
Sen. Niello: Higher education feeds the workforce. I joined the board of California Competes because it works toward higher education as the workforce development tool for our state’s economy. It’s vital to the business community that higher education develops people for the jobs not just of today, but of tomorrow. Students entering college now won’t be in the workforce for another four to six years, and things develop and change so rapidly. As Wayne Gretzky once said, I don’t pass the puck to where the player is, I pass the puck to where the player’s going to be.
“It is vital to the business community that higher education develops people for the jobs, not just of today, but of tomorrow.”
Dr. Jez: California Competes has written about how much California’s economy and demographics have evolved since 1960, when California adopted the Master Plan for Higher Education, and how higher education needs to adapt today. From your view, how has being an employer changed during your professional career, particularly with regards to this constantly changing labor market?
Sen. Niello: In our business, many of our technicians are highly educated through career technical education. My father valued a college education. He received a bachelor’s degree from UC Berkeley and pushed me in that direction too, because it develops a more knowledgeable and flexible-thinking individual. Beyond our business, the vast majority of the commercial private sector and the businesses that drive economic development and wealth creation have jobs that require college degrees. It’s vital to the business community that higher education produces individuals who can meet the demands of the economy.
Dr. Jez: We know strong college-employer partnerships are essential to preparing Californians for work and building our state’s workforce. Have you seen examples of employers and colleges working together effectively?
Sen. Niello: I have seen it. It’s done with varying degrees of effectiveness. Businesses come to those discussions with genuine interest in helping higher education understand their workforce needs. The challenge is that they struggle to articulate what their needs will be five years from now. Educational institutions sometimes come to those discussions looking primarily at businesses for resource development. These are cross-purposes, and unless the true objective of the discussion is acknowledged upfront, it can end up being unproductive.
Dr. Jez: Do you have any advice for colleges and universities looking to work with employers?
Sen. Niello: If higher education institutions genuinely try to understand what businesses need in their graduates, they will see the value in that approach. Once it’s successful, businesses will also recognize the value in their efforts and are far more likely to support the institutions financially. The private sector does support higher education, and the more they see the utility of it for their purposes—what I call the WIFM, what’s in it for me, the more they’re willing to financially support their efforts.
Dr. Jez: Our research shows that access to paid internships in California is uneven, even though these are critical to strong career outcomes. From an employer’s perspective, what might make it easier or more attractive for businesses to offer paid internships?
Sen. Niello: This is both important and difficult. It requires a programmatic effort on the part of businesses to provide a truly meaningful experience for the intern and make it worth paying them for the work done. That’s not easy for many businesses. We tried internships with a local high school, and it was very difficult to organize ourselves in a way that would provide a meaningful and valuable experience because we didn’t put somebody in charge of it. In contrast, my state senate office has internships with staff who have the responsibility to work with interns, help them with their job, and create a meaningful experience. There has to be a programmatic approach, and there isn’t always one.
“It requires a programmatic effort on the part of businesses to provide a truly meaningful experience for the intern. There has to be a programmatic approach, and there isn’t always.”
Dr. Jez: At California Competes, we believe that economic mobility and higher education’s role in creating opportunity is a bipartisan issue.
Are there any perspectives or priorities from the Republican side that need more elevating in conversations about higher education reform?
Sen. Niello: Not for higher education itself. It pretty much is a bipartisan effort, I find. I don’t think I have huge differences with my Democratic colleagues relative to what higher education can and should do, so I would agree that it is pretty much a bipartisan issue.
Dr. Jez: If you could leave California’s business and higher education leaders with one takeaway about working together to build a stronger economy, what would it be?
Sen. Niello: Businesses need to realize that their success is absolutely intertwined with the success of higher education producing the right graduates for their employment. Higher education should approach those discussions with a genuine commitment to finding out what businesses want. If higher education does that successfully, the business community will see that value, and that can become an additional source of resources without asking for it upfront. It’s similar to the car business in that we sell the product, and then we talk about the price. Higher education can do the same—deliver on their product, and then go back and say, we need some help here.
“Businesses need to realize that their success is absolutely intertwined with the success of higher education producing the right graduates. Higher education should genuinely find out what businesses want, because if they do that successfully, the business community will see that value.”
Dr. Jez: We did some research on higher ed–employer partnerships, and one thing that really struck me was when we asked higher ed leaders what they value in partnering with employers, and then asked employers what they value in partnering with higher ed—and then went one step further and asked each side what they thought the other valued. I will tell you what we found is that they were misaligned.
So that early conversation about why we’re here, what our goals are, and what each side values in the relationship is really critical.
Sen. Niello: Yes, it is.
