Though nearly two-thirds of Americans do not have four-year college degrees, many have the skills employers are looking for. Still, middle-skill industry employers are requiring bachelor degrees for jobs that don’t really need them, leading to suboptimal hiring choices. Education providers must now translate these skills into signals that employers recognize. The challenge is recognizing […]
Insights from SXSWEDU 2019 On Closing the Skills Gap
Closing the middle skills gap was a hot topic of conversation at SXSWEDU 2019, and Penn Foster was right in the middle of the discussion. Panelists from education and workforce development organizations identified four areas of focus that could help close the middle skills gap, creating opportunity for workers and employers alike. Bringing their ideas […]
Why Closing the Achievement Gap is Good for Business
As posted on FosterEDU blog Our nation continues to combat the dropout crisis by increasing the high school graduation rate (from 80 percent in 2012 to 81.4 percent in 2013). It’s progress for education, but what about the achievement gap?1 The National Center for Education Statistics defines the achievement gap as the result of when […]
How to Improve and Grow the Employee Talent Pool
As posted on FosterEDU blog The skills gap continues to dominate much of today’s economy discussions. Despite steady improvements in college graduation rates and job availabIlity, employers and job seekers struggle to make a match. It’s time for employers to gain control of talent management. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce proposes a new approach to […]
Why Addressing the Middle Skills Talent Gap Starts with Helping At-Risk Youth
As posted on FosterEDU blog The current labor market “skills gap” translates into more than 4 million jobs annually going unfilled, and stems from an imperfect match of supply and demand for critical talent in growing sectors of the economy. Skills shortages are common to most periods of economic transition and resurgence over the past 100 […]
Bridging the Skills Gap
Bloomberg News: Frank Britt, Penn Foster CEO on Bridging the Skills Gap Penn Foster CEO, Frank Britt, appeared on Bloomberg TV’s Street Smart with Trish Regan to talk about the U.S. Department of Labors’ May 2014 Jobs Report. While the unemployment rate is holding steady at 6.3%, and over 200k new jobs were created, the real […]
Minding the Gap
A big topic and conversation in our workforce is centered around the skills gap — some experts argue there is no such gap, but our work with businesses and students across the country tells us otherwise. We have no doubt that the skills gap is indeed preventing employers from finding the talent they need. At […]
