The Penn Foster Blog

It's back-to-school season, and the second busiest shopping event of the year is in full swing. For many, the term back-to-school conjures up images of shiny yellow school buses, new backpacks filled will fresh supplies, rows and rows of lockers ready to be organized and personalized, and homerooms filled with desks awaiting a new crop of students ready to begin a new school year. 

Gaining a diploma was once a rite of passage and an open door to realized dreams and seized opportunities. However, the rewards of a standard college education are no longer outweighing the costs of heavy debt and lack of job opportunities. While college may be the right fit for some, many of today's diploma holders lack the necessary skill set to fulfill the growing job market of trade-specific jobs. Instead of thriving from education, 40 percent of attendees at a four-year college drop out before completing their degree.1 Luckily, the education sector offers a variety of cost-effective options for post-high school career success-options that offer targeted learning for a first step toward a future of achievements.

We hear a lot these days in business about the movement to more fluid, trust-based business models and consumer services. In the so called "uber" economy, trust takes on new forms and becomes  even more essential to success. We human beings do not like to be faced with uncertainty, vulnerability, or risk, and the next generation of businesses and institutions are proving that they can both deliver greater consumer value and embrace that trust defined as competence and integrity is a precondition to buying or enrolling.