The Penn Foster Blog

I recently attended the National Association of Workforce Boards (NAWB) Forum. It was four valuable days focused on addressing the needs of businesses, career seekers, workforce boards, and local economies.  Due to Penn Foster's sponsorship of the event I was able to attend a variety of sessions and had the opportunity to meet with several Workforce Investment Boards and NAWB board members. Everyone I met was committed to sharing their challenges, tools, and strategies so they could learn from one another's ideas. With so many diverse topics covered I realized it could be challenging for workforce boards to decide where to focus. Therefore, after listening and participating in these discussion, I identified the three key areas I believe will have the biggest impact on outcomes for WIBs.  

On Friday, March 11th I had the pleasure of being the keynote speaker for the 2016 Graduating class of Pima Medical Institute " Albuquerque. The Kiva Auditorium in downtown Albuquerque was brimming full and the excitement was palpable. Graduation is always a special time and this ceremony marked a milestone for four special graduates, out of the hundreds in attendance. This was the first graduating class of Penn Foster High School Students in partnership with Pima Medical Institute. The graduation speech I prepared turned out to be particularly fitting as it highlighted the power of gratitude and fortitude, which these four graduates exemplify.

A large piece of the gainful employment compliance puzzle is ensuring career colleges are doing everything they can to help students get jobs with local businesses after graduation. Sometimes though, local businesses aren't aware that the career college in their own community prepares students with the exact skills their company is recruiting for. Make local businesses aware of the pool of skilled and qualified job candidates your school is producing with the following tips.

In industries with traditionally high turnover rates, such as quick-service restaurants and retail, it is exceptionally important for companies to prioritize their employee development initiatives and to guide employees towards management and growth tracks. Companies that make employee development an inherent part of their brand message to their employees often reap the benefits of reduced turnover and increased employee motivation. After all, giving employees the opportunity to improve their skills and move up in the company increases both their confidence and loyalty. This increased focus on developing and promoting employee training programs is rapidly becoming a standard in many industries; in fact, according to a 2014 Restaurant Briefing report, 69 percent of QSRs planned to devote more resources to training that year.1 It's vital that companies make these retention programs a major part of their HR strategy, effectively communicate the benefits of these program, and make it easy for employees to access them.

There's no one defining aspect of a career college that determines student success. Quality academics, flexible programs, a supportive learning environment and ample resources all help pave a path toward student achievement. And now, it's even more apparent how a strong sense of community can affect students. In fact, school spirit has been linked to higher academic performance and greater general happiness. But how do you generate school spirit without sports teams and events to rally spirit organically?

Last week, Penn Foster traveled to Arlington, VA to attend the 2016 National Job Corps Association (NJCA) Policy Forum. Having taken part in previous events including the 2015 NJCA Leadership Summit and the Job Corps 50th Anniversary celebration, we were honored to have another opportunity to meet with Job Corps center operators, advocates, community leaders, and policymakers to discuss the critical issues facing Job Corps today. Penn Foster CEO Frank Britt had the privilege of speaking at the opening session of the event.

In recent years, educational institutions are increasingly evaluated on job placement metrics. In an effort to prepare their learners for the job market, more schools than ever are implementing mentoring programs. When run well, mentoring programs have been proven to increase students' academic success, and improve enthusiasm while on the job for participants' post-graduation1. Given these proven benefits, some schools, such as Muhlenberg College, are requiring that all students participate in a school-run mentoring program for at least one semester. If your school is considering implementing a mentoring program, here are five easy tips to ensure your program's success:

High schools work hard at making sure students know their options after high school and preparing them to take that next step. Career colleges also play an influential role in providing these students with the tools and resources they need to continue their education. When career colleges and high schools work together for this common purpose, the chances for successful student outcomes is even greater.

During times of high unemployment, workers and job seekers commonly return to school to acquire new skills and become more employable. As the job market grows, college enrollment rates traditionally start to decline.

In order to stay competitive in today's marketplace, large corporations are jumping at the chance to partner with ed-tech providers and colleges to offer education pathway programs for employees. Multinational corporations such as Chipotle and Wal-Mart are investing in these partnerships in order to attract and retain talent.1 But this begs the question as to what small businesses are capable of in terms of providing similar opportunities. Certain niche providers are starting to pop up to cater to this sector, in order to reach working learners who happen to work at the local, family-owned coffee shop instead of a Starbucks.