ManpowerGroup Inc.’s (NYSE: MAN) Right Management outplacement division will provide career management and coaching to graduate students and alumni of Webster University’s George Herbert Walker School of Business & Technology. The program will include a required course for grad students called “Career Success for the 21^st Century.”

Jeff Gerkin, senior VP of North America sales at Right Management, said others schools have worked with outplacement firms but this is the first for a built-in course.

It puts the school on the leading edge, Gerkin said.

Students today face a perfect storm of higher tuition rates and debt upon graduation in a jobs marketplace where unemployment remains relatively high, and this is a solution, he said.

The program will launch next summer.

The course will give students a foundation in career management and cover topics such as self-assessments, personal branding and social media. Students will work with Right Management career coaches as part of the course.

Students will receive one credit for the course, which will be delivered online, according to the school. The course represents the first phase of the program. In the second phase, students will receive 12 months of personalized career development that includes one-on-one career coaching from Right Management, guidance in developing a career action plan, resume writing and interview skills. Students completing the second phase will be entitled to ongoing career development support over the course of their entire careers through lifetime access to Right Management’s career resources and best practices, including its alumni network and job bank.

“Students today need a stronger link between education and employment so they can build successful careers and thrive in a highly competitive job market,” Gerkin said. “Right Management and Webster University are committed to giving students the much-needed advantage of learning how to own and drive their careers upon graduation and throughout their working lives.”

The program will focus just on grad students and alumni in the business and technology program at the Walker school. More than 11,000 students are enrolled in the Walker school’s programs. These degree programs are offered across the US, Europe, Africa and Asia as well as online.

“Whether our students want to begin, advance or change their careers, this new professional development program will equip them with the tools and resources they need to proactively manage their careers and achieve their goals,” said Benjamin Ola. Akande, dean of the Walker School. “Professional development and career management training are essential in today's highly-competitive job market, and we're excited to partner with Right Management on this innovative, student-focused initiative.”

Webster’s University’s home campus is in St. Louis, Mo. The school was founded in 1915.

Right Management ranks as the second-largest outplacement provider in the US.