Short reply: Students have no experience so I'm inclined to agree with you.
Long Reply: I'm on my work term now after taking a 59 week course (no breaks), I'm working as an assistant to my school's network administrator, and I agree about the kids coming out of school. I know I worked my rear end off to have my MCSA, CNA, A+ and Net+. I know that most of my classmates have yet to pass a cert because most of them don't feel prepared to take it, or because they're among the many who simply will end up not taking any at all. I know that when most of the other students finish their work term, they're not going to have meaningful jobs, and probably end up doing tech support at a local call center because they're not ready for the work environment. The problem is that the certifications that we are training in school for are designed to be taken after having 6-9 months of experience, but other than 4 weeks of labs I have no experience working with Exchange. I don't feel prepared to take my 70-284, but I know that with study and practice exams i will pass, the same as I have with previous certs.
If you want quality IT personnel, then you need to get involved. Talk to your HR or hiring manager about taking on a student or three, We're sponges. We work cheap, and in most cases will work for free and we'll do anything. If you tell a student to fix your growing pile of broken desktops so you can work on something more pressing, we'll do it with a smile for the chance to ask you questions abut what you're doing so we can learn from you. I would have (and still might) give a leg to work in a large IT environment in an administrative capacity.
Taking on a quality student gives you the chance to shape a generalist, give them experience in the technologies you use. When we're done school we have a "nasty" habit of being loyal to a company that took a chance on us, We have experience working with you, and you know our strengths and weaknesses. If things go horribly wrong, you don't have to worry about firing a student since they don't work for you, and there's always more to take their place.
If you're concerned about the quality of work, have a chat with their instructor. It's the instructor's reputation on the line, and their not going to recommend a student who can't do the job. The career services staff at my school are the nicest people, but they don't have many contacts in the area for IT placements, and it's always difficult to find quality jobs for students when they finish their courses, and the problem that I'm finding is that there's an "IT Talent Shortage" but nobody's willing to fill the void with entry level positions.
Now, I'm not a manager of any kind and I'm sure that there's details about staffing that I couldn't begin to imagine at this point, but it seems fairly rudimentary to me that you should encourage advancement from within and bring in new talent to fill the junior positions and cultivate the next generation of IT staff from within.
As an example, I'm assisting the admin of my school because otherwise, I had the option to operate a printer in a manufacturing setting, or do tech support at a call center. Either of those positions can be done by uncertified candidates, and though they are entry level, there is little to no advancement available to either position. I would much rather take a junior admin position and have the experience under my belt when I go looking for full time work in December.
Besides all of the other excellent reasons to take on a student remember that most people were students at one time, Someone took a chance on you or took you under their wing and I'm sure that you remember that person fondly. So take a minute on a coffee break and ask your HR if they're willing to provide you with a student, Besides, if there's one thing that i know, it's that the words "Free Labor" will perk the ears of any manager, and most will be willing to make a free phone call.
Am I totally off base?
