SOUTH BEND, Ind. -
"While hedge funds and private equity are the careers du jour, America's financial services providers will need dedicated professionals in marketing, operations, accounting, risk management, compliance, and sales in order to remain viable, sustainable, and competitive," Hood said.
Called the "Blueprint for 2020: A Plan to Strengthen the Future of Credit Unions," Hood's plan, introduced during the Big Ten Credit Union Conference at the University of Notre Dame, broadly calls on credit unions to work together to increase student membership, employment and participation in the CUs.
Hood said he is seeking to assemble a group of credit union and university leaders to develop a program to foster future credit union leaders. Hood is not the first to attempt to create educational pathways aimed at a career in credit unions. The Credit Union Executives Society, for instance, has worked with the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) on such a plan, but had difficulties getting students interested in a career that would likely pay less than other options (for info, search the archive at www.cujournal.com). Hood said he is interested in working with the HBCUs, along with other universities and MBA programs. Hood credited John Milazza, president of Campus FCU in Baton Rouge, La., and Tyrone Burke, president of Georgia State FCU in Atlanta, as two CU leaders who have helped inspire his proposal.
Hood said the desired results for his "Blueprint for 2020" include:
* Credit union internship and mentoring opportunities for college students.
* Strategic consulting projects for MBA students.
* Working with credit unions to perform management assessment of timely issues, such as membership growth, marketing campaign, product analysis, and membership segmentation.
* Creating relationships with representatives from college career planning and placement offices to participate in career fairs.
* Creating symposia and curricula for students to receive academic credit while interning at credit unions.
* Providing low-income designated credit unions with contributions to pay for summer interns.
Cultivating new board members, supervisory committee and credit committee members for the credit union system.
Hood suggested the criteria for measuring the Blueprint's success could include:
* Increased percentage of career fairs that involve credit unions.
* Rise in number of interns within the credit union system.
* Membership growth among Gen Y.
* New employees with core competencies for the future financial services landscape.
