Giving Compass' Take:

• Partners Healthcare and Southern New Hampshire University are creating an upskilling certification program for participants either currently enrolled in college or for individuals who want to return to the workforce. 

• How will this unique upskilling program help to encourage adult learners to re-learn skills to join (or re-join) the workforce?  

• For more information on upskilling, check out the Giving Compass Workforce Development Guide for donors. 

According to a 2014 study from IBM, “75 to 80 percent of managers believe effective training is critical to project success,” and “skill levels linked to business value yield a 10 percent increase in productivity.”

To keep up with skills demand, increasingly more people are upskilling or going back to school after they’ve entered the workforce. Partners Healthcare has teamed up with Southern New Hampshire University to create an upskilling certification program to help Partners’ employees with workforce development.

Upskilling or obtaining a degree can be difficult while you’re working full-time. So in collaboration with College for America, the certification program allows for learning and time flexibility. According to Melissa Goldberg, Director of Workforce Insights at Southern New Hampshire University, the program is self-directed, so participants can learn on their own time and pick which topics they need to focus on.

“The program was developed specifically to meet the needs of working adults and address changes and challenges they face with more traditional college programs,” says Goldberg.

Read the full article about upskilling by Mariel Cariker at EdTech Times