I Thought This Might Surprise You…

. . . LinkedIn’s “Workplace Learning Report 2021” reports that in March 2021, 63% of CEO’s buy-in to the need to make professional development resources available for their workforce, compared to 24% in March 2020 . . .

. . . That’s a whopping 162.5% increase in as little as 12 months! Why is this important? 

Hi Friends,

Did you know that traditional learning institutions (most colleges and universities) have built their infrastructure on the business of making money for themselves and hindering your ability to hold down a job? Sound drastic? Well, let’s break it down (humour me for a minute) . . . 

Colleges & Universities (like the ones that (maybe) you, your parents, and grandparents went to), essentially . . . 

• Teach you ONE thing, ONE way, with ONE success metric, and they have you take 4 years (or longer) of your time to complete the process. This makes you largely incapable of doing anything else, unless you spend another 4 years learning another ONE thing (and so on). This makes you reliant on others for all adjunctive parts of the process in order for your ONE thing to be successful (maybe).

• Help you rack up multi-5 and 6 figures of debt before you’re hired for your first job, because job recruiters are taught to (mostly) qualify credentials based on a 4 year degree (minimal).

• Give you no guarantee that you’ll get a job placement based on the credentials they provide to you after you’ve spent all that money and time, unless you spend double the money and time and get a medical, dental, or legal degree (these credentials guarantee you a job because you pay yearly association fees to remind you how much you need them). 

• Leave you with most of what you learned to be either out-of-date by the time you graduate or shortly thereafter, due to the on-going, aggressive technology disruptions that make things obsolete quickly, rather than provide you with life long job security like it was as little as one generation ago. This means continual money and time investment from your side, throughout your career lifespan, to keep you relevant to your employer.

This is why workforces around the world are leaning on alternative education facilities, where the good ones provide their clients with the latest knowledge and resources that are more holistic and application based than traditional education facilities, where some of them even provide accountability support to maximize your chances to succeed. 

During my 36 years in the entrepreneurial arena (starting in hospitality at 15, dental at 27, media at 30, events at 37, and coaching/consulting/mentoring at 47), I have seen that the number 1 challenge faced in the work environment is the increasing gap between the acquisition of knowledge & skills and the ability to execute sufficiently to meet the intended goal. 

Never has there been a time in history where people have needed more support than now to level up, in order to meet the rapid demands of technological advancements, amplified by pandemic circumstances. There is no wonder then, that studies show that the knowledge and training industries have and continue to grow at a rapid rate, making them second only to the technological industry, in terms of % growth year over year for the past 6 years.  

Words to ponder . . .

“If you’re ready to action your life, I’m ready to support you. If your`re willing to work, I`m willing to work you. If you falter, I`ll lend you my shoulder. Doing it together, will take it further.” ~ Raj Girn

Until next time.