The Penn Foster Blog

As the number of "nontraditional" students, especially working learners, rises, the traditional secondary education format, i.e. a recent high school graduate going to a brick-and-mortar college fulltime, is becoming less of a reality. Many learners are struggling to access the brick-and-mortar college because of finances or actual distance " nearly 11.2 million adults live in an education desert, or more than sixty minutes from a public college.1

Pharmacy technicians are the ever-present faces at drug stores, pharmacies, and hospitals across the nation, fulfilling a crucial role in the healthcare system. As the population ages, requiring prescription medication care, pharmacies are becoming more important in the healthcare industry. As such, the job outlook for pharmacy technicians is expanding at a faster rate than average, at 12%, suggesting a need for more skilled workers to fill these opening positions.

Finding employees with the right skills is a struggle for many businesses, but manufacturing and information technology are having the most trouble according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data. They're facing a skills gap, resulting in millions of unfilled jobs across the country.

Almost every industry is feeling the effects of the skills gap. It's a problem that's not likely to be solved by educational reforms alone, especially in the short-term. Companies need trained, qualified employees now, not four years from now when college freshman become graduates, and certainly not 16 years from now when today's first-graders get their diplomas.

Does your email marketing team struggle with a high unsubscribe rate? Or worse, not know if your unsubscribe rate is good or bad? If you answered yes to either of those questions, the checklist below will help you gain control of your unsubscribes and improve the effectiveness of your email marketing.

The summer solstice, happening this year on June 21st, is when the sun reaches the highest and most Northern point in the sky in the Northern Hemisphere - making it the longest day of sunshine throughout the year. Many mark this day as the beginning of summer " the season with abundant sunshine and warmth. 

Safety is the responsibility of everyone in the workplace. From the C-suite to equipment operators to the office staff, each and every member of your team should have the tools and knowledge to keep themselves and their coworkers safe at work.

Across the United States, employers in the skilled trades, particularly in manufacturing, are facing a severe shortage of skilled workers. This skills gap is causing a growing number of discouraged workers who feel as though while there are open jobs, they cannot access them without specialized training or education.

This past weekend's Penn Foster Graduation Ceremony was, as always, one of the most moving days of the year for me.  And as I watched several hundred Penn Foster graduates leave the stage with diploma, certificate or degree in hand, I felt not only a great sense of optimism for them individually, but also for them as a group.  The reason? More so than in any of my prior six Penn Foster graduations, our graduates will be entering a job market anxious for credentialed learners that have already demonstrated the hallmarks of high potential professionals in terms of discipline, resilience, and commitment to growing investment in skills attainment.

In recent years, obtaining a college diploma has become the standard for entering the workforce. However, multiple competing forces within both the education and job market have begun to render this "standard" down to an option for some, but not all.