 This is Think Tech Hawaii. Community Matters here. Greetings. Welcome to another episode of Working Together on Think Tech Hawaii, where we discuss the impact of change on workers, employers, and the economy. I'm your host, Cheryl Crozier-Garcia, inviting you to join in the conversation. You can do that by calling in to our conversation line at area code 808-374-2014 or you can tweet us at Think Tech HI. Today we are going to be talking about some of the changes that are occurring in higher education and also in the business world. And specifically what I want to talk about is the way that graduate students are changing. The demographics are changing. The average age of a student coming back to get a master's degree is 33 years old. 53% of new graduate students are women and most of them have at least five years of professional experience before they enter graduate school. That is a tremendous change requiring universities and professors to really retool the way they craft and deliver curriculum, the way they schedule classes, and what is actually included in a graduate program. So joining us today to talk about these changes is Rick Netera. Rick will be graduating from HPU in a couple of weeks, but before that he was an Army Sergeant Major and he retired and so now he is getting ready to embark on a new adventure in the civilian community. Welcome Rick. Well thank you for having me Dr. Singh, but no this has really been a good adventure. But those statistics that you mentioned there's something that I'm kind of a little bit of an ally because I'm a little bit older than 33 and I have a more than five years of worth of experience. I was in the Army for 29 years and really joining the students here at HPU it was more like a transition for me, kind of like moving from the military to kind of get a climate feeling of the civilian world and there's something that I wanted to kind of like before I went into a job I wanted to kind of like be able to have a good sense of what the workforce was out here and it was a good thing. A matter of fact when I first joined I started as an OC, organizational change, but then I changed my degree to human resources. The reason was because my abilities, my skills were more in line with HR than OC. They have an excellent program here and it's as an organizational change, but at my age I think that's more of a kind of younger generation where they can kind of invest in an organization and grow with an organization I'm a little bit older and that thing I have a lot of experience that I can bring into an organization that I already have and I don't have to grow. Let's talk a little bit about your experience because here's the thing I find interesting about you. 29 years in the Army you retired as a Sergeant Major and that means that you have had multiple years of leadership training that you went through. So why a master's degree when you could it seems to me just as easily apply those Sergeant Major leadership skills in the civilian community? Well as a Sergeant Major we deal with a lot of the troops. We tried to develop them and like when I first came up a lot of my leaders they tried to develop me and they tried to put me in those situations that I was they were testing me but also they were developing me. I feel like HR has that potential that I learned in those 29 years that I can kind of match and I think the workforce which it was also something I experienced here because there's a lot of younger students and there's a lot of well not that many but a few older than me here at the university that I would say well kind of like balance you know the different generations and kind of like to see what they were about and what makes them take and that's something that I wanted to come to the university and get a feel for before I enter the workforce. So as a HR professional that's something that I'll probably be looking for and hopefully I get involved with developing the new workforce. So you had leaders who saw potential in you and they worked with you to develop that potential and that set you on a pattern of success that took you through your military career. How do you spot that potential across say multi-generational lines? That's very simple I think because if the employee wants to do well then they're going to have that attitude of I want to do what it takes to make myself better but also improve the organization and that's something that you can spot right away and that's kind of like also you know for the new generations is that sometimes a matter of fact I'm just going to regret a little bit when I first joined the army it was money for college except I kind of like it and then I stay with it but the point here is that the army gave me the chance and paid for my education to come to school and be able to kind of like continue my education. As a new generation is coming up I know it's hard to pay for tuition and stuff like that but it's something that they should be looking for in organizations and what I'm saying with this is like you don't have to pay it all yourself but if you work for an organization that is willing to pay then that's probably an organization you want to belong to because they're investing in you and if they invest in you then you can also show some of that loyalty by improving the organization you're going to have some investment in that organization so it's like you know where they both are going to work together to improve yourself and the organization so it's a win-win situation. So what has been your experience with say our millennial generation and now the iGen coming forward that are different say from people of you're in my generation X and and the baby boomers what's different about the young people coming up? I think the newer generations are super smart they're super talented they bring a lot of skills that we didn't have a matter of fact there's a lot of studies about different things multitasking is good or it's not but really the students here they can adapt really well and they do their work that needs to get done but uh just being smart also comes with a lot of challenges the study is bringing into the the mix that we didn't have so this is where it's good that they're super smart and that they have a lot of abilities that sometimes we our generation wasn't required but they need to put it to work early in their career or as they're coming up the school and work because it seems like with technology everything has been recorded so as it's been recorded if anybody can go back and say well this is what happened and that was what happened but those abilities I think they need to be put to where technology in the new generation needs to come together to where they can develop themselves to be able to provide a value to an organization and what I'm saying is that for example if you need I mean right now technology is providing a flat kind of um kind of like a canvas for everybody to do develop in different areas but the students need to be smart enough to where they can pick a field where they can develop themselves and make themselves really good at it instead of just kind of like spraying themselves in all across that field and that's something that they need to kind of like develop early because the better they get on their skill set the more the value they're going to bring to the organization and they can learn it right here at the university. So you are making an argument for choosing a profession based on what I'm good at and what I know I'm good at and looking for a profession or a discipline where those strengths are best used. Yes and I think I got a little bit of course here but the i-generation they're super smart like I said they just need to apply it to an area where they can do well. Some of the things that I've seen is that they try to kind of work themselves thing and try different things but they don't develop a skill in a certain area. I would say is that's one of the things that they probably need to kind of be able to kind of think what they wanted to do early in their career or at school work and then just kind of like prepare for that area. But how do you do that? I mean the majority of university students today are preparing themselves for jobs that don't even exist yet. And certainly that's true in my professional experience. The HR world of today is very very different than the one I was trained to enter you know back in the early Jurassic period. So how do students use their educational time at university to prepare for jobs that they don't even know exist? You know that is like a super difficult question and the more I was thinking about it I came with three ways where we can kind of like do this. The first thing that probably needs to happen is the student needs to be able to deal with that day-to-day task that they need to do to get done because that's going to either kind of pay for the bills or it's going to be able to help you accomplish that test study for a test or the homework but also have like an idea of where you want to go. Because if you have an idea of where you want to go then the path might not be straight might be a little bit crooked but you have a direction to go. That's something that is so important. So a person needs to be able to focus on those two things. The other thing is be able to sense. It's very important for the new generation to sense where they at where they want to be and how things are changing and then they need to be able to change with that. I wish I can say it's like okay this is what you need to do and then you can go but it's not that easy. It's something that they got to sense. I agree. Hold that thought. We will be back. We're going to take a quick break and share some of the other excellent programming on Think Tech Hawaii so we will take this time to do that and we will be back in 60 seconds. Hello everyone. I'm DeSoto Brown, the co-host of Human Humane Architecture which is seen on Think Tech Hawaii every other Tuesday at 4 p.m. and with the show's host Martin Despeng, we discuss architecture here in the Hawaiian Islands and how it not only affects the way we live but other aspects of our life not only here in Hawaii but internationally as well. So join us for Human Humane Architecture every other Tuesday at 4 p.m. on Think Tech Hawaii. Aloha. My name is Mark Shklav. I'm the host of Think Tech Hawaii's Law Across the Sea. Law Across the Sea comes on every other Monday at 11 a.m. Please join us. I like to bring in guests that talk about all types of things that come across the sea to Hawaii. Not just law, love, people, ideas, history. Please join us for Law Across the Sea. Aloha. Welcome back to Working Together on Think Tech Hawaii. I'm Cheryl Crozier Garcia and we are talking to Rick Netera who is a graduate student at Hawaii Pacific University getting ready to graduate with a master's degree in HR and he is sharing with us his experience of transitioning from a military career into the civilian world. So welcome back, Rick. You know, when we went to break, you were talking about a multifunctionality that students really need to embrace in order to be successful. So they need to act in three different realms, operational, tactical, and strategic. The operational aspects were, as you described, those day-to-day tasks that need to be done. And then the tactics may have a little bit more to do with choices of courses that you would take scheduling those things, when would be the best time perhaps to do an internship or a practicum, et cetera. And then at the strategic level we have at the broadest possible level of planning where the student says, this is what I want five years out, 10 years out. So tell us how that process worked for you. Well, like I was saying, I was in the military and I used this as a transition point. And when I first joined, I was a little bit delayed. But I know that I wanted to go to school. I joined the military for money for school. And I knew where I wanted to go. And that's where I'm doing right now. I joined the army for money for college and I retire. So now I'm going to college to kind of be able to start the career I always kind of imagine and kind of like the way that I kind of planned it. I enjoy the army so much that I end up staying a little bit longer than they required for years. But that's something that you have to plan and then just kind of like visualize it. But that's kind of like the way it came together for me. And I know I was not just addressing the iGen or the X generation, but just kind of in general. And that's what I wanted to kind of be able to talk about. It's just not like there's not millennials in older generation. But in HR, we got to be able kind of like to see a workforce and then kind of be able to adjust for the different areas. But just for myself, that's how it came together. Sounds like you knew what you wanted sort of, but you didn't quite have a clear picture of what that focus should be. And so you stayed with what you knew would be helpful in the long run in order to, like you knew you joined the army for money for school, you got all that money for school. And as soon as you figured out what you wanted to study, then you moved into that kind of field. Yes. And that's kind of like the way it worked for me. And that's another thing that I wanted to say is that I always try to see your abilities and your skills and where you can put into work the best. Because that's what happened to me. And like I said, I changed my major even when I was in school. But that's because I sense that I needed to make that change because I was a better fit for HR. So that's something like as a student, they need to always be able to do and change it as they need to. But things change, like we say, and we are going to be kind of developing a workforce for something that is not there yet. So just with this in mind, you need to be kind of like trying to think ahead and where it's coming in the future. So you can move in that direction. I wish there was a very dust that I can say, okay, this is what you need to do. And you're going to be alright and everything. But really, it's the day to day decisions that you're going to be making the direction where you want to go is what is going to make you successful. And also one of the things that I wanted to say, the reason also I was successful is because in the beginning I didn't have no idea, but I have good supervisors that kind of like put the time in me kind of like to develop that instinct and ideas and where I needed to go. And that's why I decided to stay in the military. So finding the organization where you fit well after school and finding that area where you are strong at and be able to bring value to the organization is very important. And you are going to be a happier student, employee and hopefully a supervisor or manager and also be able to provide those kind of direction for the future generation. And that's how we're going to develop the workforce of the future. There's not going to be a roadmap that is going to be set in stone unless it's like an ice cube that is going to be changing with the weather and the temperature. So the best thing I can say is that I learned a lot here in HPU. Coming here to the school was a great experience. I got everything that I was looking at getting from the university the experience. I get to work with wide range of students age wise and I was also get a good education. That's something that HPU was able to provide for me. And now I feel more hopeful for myself and joining the workforce and hopefully the skills that I learned be able to make transfer them into value for an organization. I have to say that I'm going to share with you right now one of my most dearly held fantasies. And that is that someday I will go to work for one of my students. That's like my goal. So the student would be the chief human resources officer in some company and I would come in say as the assistant CHRO or something like that. It's my dream to do that. I will consider myself ready for the boneyard if I can ever accomplish that. I would go to work for you today as a matter of fact. I'd like to say I have so much to learn and you every time we have an interaction is something that I can learn from. And I know HR is something that I started in. But I mean I learned the military provide a lot of the education and everything. But even with all that I mean every time in the class and materials that we are assigned to read and stuff there's always areas where I needed to learn a little bit more. And like we're saying is that the world keeps changing. So it's not an HR is not going to be where I learned everything I needed to know. And I'm good. It's something that we just continue to develop. We're going to continue to I guess change as you know the landscape changes. And that's something that I'm looking forward to. So with that said it's like graduating a couple of weeks looking for an organization that is going to provide me that kind of fertile soil I guess I can say where I can start and I can grow and I can bring value to the company. Yeah. I think that's what we all want. I mean I don't think anyone starts out saying I would like to get paid a lot of money to do nothing. I don't think anybody says that. Well maybe some people do. But there is an expectation that an employee will bring value to the organization. But there's also an expectation of the employee that he or she will receive value from their employer. And it's got to be kind of a mutual mutually beneficial relationship. Otherwise it just doesn't work. Oh yes definitely. And that's something that we were and I think that was my third thing that I didn't mention. But it is kind of like first you got to invest in yourself. But to a point if you work for an organization find an organization that is going to invest in you. And if you have that in an organization probably you're in the right place because then you could develop yourself and then bring the organization to a new level. And in my experience from working with a lot of people in the military probably like you said is probably what we all kind of dream of. Kind of like where we bring value to the organization and the organization can invest in by developing our skills. Right. Relative to development too though you bring up a good point. Certainly there are organizations that are willing to invest in terms of things like tuition waivers, scholarship, reimbursement programs these kinds of things for professional development. But that's not the only investment. There can also be tremendous value in the investment of time where you have a leader in the organization who spots potential talent in you or in me or in someone else and spends the time that it takes to really groom that talent into whatever the organization needs at a given time. And that is so right. Matter of fact that was the reason why I probably end up staying in the military so long because there was this back then it was a kernel buy. I was his communication for his organization and every time I mean I never seen somebody come to my shelter where I was kind of like the center for communications that I was providing but he came in and he looked around kind of give me a quick interview there but one of the things that he said is like you need to come and see inside so you can get the bigger picture. You just here you're just like oh I need to provide the phones I need to provide the internet and so on but he was like no you need to see where you fit in the whole picture and those are kind of like the development leaders or the leaders that develop the workforce that we need and yes and that's true it's not just about send them to school or read a book but also you got to invest your time and your employees and trying to bring them up kind of like so they can see the big picture and then that way they can move forward from there and believe me that experience was so valuable to me that I never forgot it. I mean I saw him through my career here and there but that's every time I see him that's the picture I have and it was yes we need to kind of be able to provide the tools but also take the time time is so important for employees. Yeah that's what people I was talking to my husband about this earlier this morning. People often say what they give notice they're going to leave a job and perhaps go on to something new and they say well I'm going to miss the people. No you're not you're leaving because of the people because for whatever reason it isn't the processes that are problematic or troublesome it's the interpersonal relationship. So if you can master the ability to really respond well in an interpersonal setting you stand a better chance of success in adding value to your organization and having your organization add value to you. Yes I mean like in the military we see it all the time in I think one way where you can feel value is by your supervisors kind of like validating what you're doing and if you get that not just by you know making it up or so but by actually come to your work or what you're doing and see you're doing the work and then kind of like saying yes this is a job worth mentioning and everything you would take pride yes from doing better work next time and the time after yes by that simple thing because you know that you are bringing value to the company and they are noticing your efforts to make that organization a better organization. Right you know that's a good a good place for us to stop we're running out of time gosh really flown today but thank you for joining us you know when we talk about the workforce of the future and the skills that are going to be needed the reality is is that we are really kind of casting blind we don't know what the future holds but we do know that there is always a need for people to work together to accomplish goals and if people can do that perhaps the skill sets that are necessary for the future will just fall into place it's something to look forward to so when I go to work for you in the future Rick you and I can look back on this conversation so see I told you I told you okay well thank you Dr. C. all right well that wraps our time today on working together on Think Tech Hawaii I'm Cheryl Crozier Garcia and we will be back in two weeks with more information about the impact of change thanks for watching see you in two weeks