The Penn Foster Blog

Penn Foster is happy to be returning to the 2017 NSBA Annual Convention and Exposition for another year. Held from March 26th - 27th in Denver, CO, this national event brings together education leaders at a time when domestic policies and global trends are combining to shape the future of the American learner.

For many, the industry most-associated with the term "skills gap" remains manufacturing in the United States. The story of the decline of US manufacturing has been relayed many times over the past few decades; in 2016, CNN Money stated that 5 million manufacturing jobs had been lost since 2000.1 But the reality is that the industry is facing a resurgence. Many look to modern training programs as enablers of new growth within the industry's skilled workforce. But how have these learning and development options actually evolved? How can the lessons learned about training in the manufacturing industry be applied to other markets in the economy?

More than 95 percent of American colleges enrolled students who required remedial course work in the 2014-2015 academic year, according to a recent Hechinger Report. And, of the students that took remedial courses while enrolled in a two- or four-year college, 30 percent did not complete their degree.

Low-income and low-opportunity high school students have reached a 74.6 percent graduation rate. These steady improvements are a step in the right direction, as targeted interventions help at-risk demographics to achieve their goals. However, their post-secondary education pathway is often challenging. High schools need to put resources in place to show low-income students feasible options for their post-graduation learning.

 

Across a multitude of industries, employers have been struggling to find " and retain " quality talent. However, the root of this issue is highly contested. While some critics challenge the very existence of it, 92% of executives agree that there is a skills gap in the U.S. workforce, resulting in companies' inability to adequately fill their workforce.1 Where does this problem stem from? There are many factors working together that have led to the skills shortage, and we'll explore several of them in the article below.  

The face of the American working class is changing. Whereas once the phrase "working class American" conjured up images of men working in factories or on construction sites, today the majority of the working class is employed in the service industry.

It's no secret that the healthcare industry is growing exponentially in the United States. With an aging Baby Boomer population, the industry as a whole is expected to expand by 19% in the next decade, adding over 2.3 million jobs1. This includes jobs in every facet of the industry, including physicians, nurses, hospital administrators, home health aides, medical coders & billers, nursing assistants, and more.

Talent retention has become a mandate for any company that wishes to be successful today. Seventy-eight percent of business leaders surveyed by Deloitte ranked employee retention and engagement as either important or urgent.1 One reason is the growing awareness of the expense of replacing employees, which Deloitte says can cost up to twice a departing employee's salary.2

Within the next decade, the overall number of Security Guards in the United States is expected to grow by 5%, adding over 200,000 new job openings by 2024. These job prospects were described as "excellent" by the Bureau of Labor Statistics1. Security Guards are critical personnel at a range of locations in every facet of the U.S. economy, including banks, hospitals, hotels & resorts, casinos, stadiums, universities, and malls.