Penn Foster

Destini Willis, a veteran and a mother, had skills before furthering her education, but she needed expert training to succeed in a new career after leaving the military. Here's her story.

With the majority of the current United States labor market falling somewhere in the vast space between high school graduate and college graduate, those trained to fill roles in this education-gap are often labeled as "middle-skilled." Jobs either require a degree, or they don't and those who are stuck in the middle can find themselves locked out because of the all- or- nothing approach of many employers. 

When you think customer service, you might think about such industries as retail, hospitality, and restaurants. In these industries, training workers in customer service is essential. At the same time, almost every industry could benefit from workers who have customer service training. 

When the average person thinks about manufacturing, they picture huge multinational corporations with hundreds of employees. However, most manufacturing companies are small businesses with fewer than 20 employees. If you're running one of those small manufacturing facilities, you know first-hand how difficult it can be to find qualified employees. 

Veterinary medicine is a booming industry. With an estimated 67% of US households claiming at least one pet in the American Pet Products Association (APPA) biennial survey, there's no question that veterinary practices, both private and corporate, should be booming. However, with an influx of new pet owners, it's difficult for practices, small and large, to keep up with appointments and quality patient care without credentialed veterinary technicians on board. 

A well-developed job posting is the first step toward attracting the right talent to fill open positions. With a yawning skills gap, and a plummeting unemployment rate, quality job postings are more important than ever. If you're still repurposing the same job postings you used a decade ago, you're probably missing great candidates. 

The time has come to rethink hiring. If your company is using the same processes and requirements it was using 10 years ago, you're probably struggling to find qualified candidates. You're not alone. Businesses of all sizes are finding jobs hard to fill. Tech giants like Microsoft, IBM, and Amazon are no exception. 

By now most corporations recognize that the United States is facing a skills gap. Yet there are still some people who refuse to believe the skills gap exists. While it's tempting to claim that these skills gap deniers have some political agenda that can only succeed if the skills gap is proven false, the reality is that most people who don't believe in the skills gap are looking at the problem too narrowly. 

High-profile business leaders know the value of employee training. PwC Chairman Tim Ryan told the Wall Street Journal, "In the next three years, upskilling will be a required employee benefit just like a 401(k) or health care." The promise of training helps you attract great employees when included as part of your benefits package. But employees aren't the only ones to benefit. Your business can realize a positive return on investment by offering learning and development opportunities for your employees.

You might already be convinced that giving your employees access to training and educational opportunities is good for them and good for your business. Now you have to decide what kind of learning opportunities to offer them. Should you hire an in-house trainer? Partner with a local community college? Provide tuition assistance for a traditional four-year institution? Online learning is becoming more and more popular. Is that an avenue worth exploring?