Recession is excellent time to expand employees

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In a recession, continuing education programsw are often targetedfor cuts. From Rick Osborn’s that’s a mistake. “It doesn’t make sense,” said the president. “In the short those kinds of cuts might work for a But in thelong run, you’rd going to have to restorr the cuts.” It’s in a recessiomn that companies should either implement or step up continuintg education programs — especially if ther are layoffs, Osborn said. With layoffs, the employeese who remain take on new and they’re going to need new skillw for their revised job descriptions.
Continuing education is brokemn into twomain divisions, degree-based programs and non-degree trainin g or workforce development programs. Some fieldzs — think nursing, accounting, real estatre — require more formal re-licensing, eithedr annually or every few years. When choosing continuinh education programs, employers in such fields need to make sure the coursesx meet the standards set bythe profession, said Sara executive director of the and Traininvg (www.iacet.org).
The IACET sets the standards for continuing education providers inseveral fields, from health care to The other kind of continuing education programds involve professional development for employees to improve theire skills, or learn new ones. This more informal traininv may not be a professional but that’s no reason for companies to cut back on it in toug h times, said Osborn. Take a field like IT, which is constantl evolving. Employers in such an industry coul d offer continuing education tostay competitive. A 2007 studyg conducted by the (www.shrm.org) and an onlin section of The Wall Street Journak found that 44 percentof U.S.
companiess offer some kind of professional development. Of those that do, 80 percent provider that training with continuing education The study foundthat there’s a “shortagwe of skills in the availabled labor pool.” What’s entry-level workers are more likely to lack skills, a problemm compounded by the retirement of the baby boom SHRM reported in the “Worker skills must evolve to meet the demands of an increasinglyt globalized, technology-driven workplace,” the studyh concluded. “Skills training and professional development can providse not only the skills needed by the organization now but can also address anticipatedfuture needs.
” Meanwhile, at the Associationb for Continuing Higher Education, Osborn advisex companies looking to provid continuing education to turn to community colleges. In general, he community colleges have been more receptive to listening to whatbusinessesw want, and tailoring programw to those needs. He also said companiee should go withmore engaging, interactive programse and avoid one-size-fits-all training. While that mighr fit for certain businesses, plenty of organizations requirespecialized training.
Whils the cost of continuing education varies widely from fielddto field, the consensus in the industry is that quality professional development doesn’t come Unless it’s a basic program businesses should be prepared to make a sizablre investment.