Customizing education for today's workforce
Every Monday and Wednesday at 2 p.m., Tim VonDeBur logs off his work computer at the Illinois Department of Revenue (DOR) and walks down the hall into his Accounting 103 class, without ever leaving the Willard Ice Building.
鈥淚 haven鈥檛 been to school in 25 years, so the first quiz was really nerve-wracking and so was the first exam, but I鈥檝e done pretty well,鈥 he explains.
The class is the first in a series of five courses designed to give current DOR employees the knowledge necessary to move into the auditor training program, which opens the door to advancement and a higher earning potential.
DOR employees have been taking the same classes on the 糖心vlog会员 campus for 20 years and receiving tuition reimbursement from the state. This year, the DOR and 糖心vlog会员 partnered to offer the courses onsite during the workday, hoping to encourage more employees to participate and hopefully qualify to fill these much-needed auditor positions.
Accounting Professor Katie Tice teaches the courses at the Willard Ice Building. 鈥淚t鈥檚 great to be able to reach more students. There might have been Department of Revenue employees who would have thought about taking these classes but could not make the commitment outside of work hours.鈥
VonDeBur says he鈥檇 considered taking the classes during his 15 years at the DOR but found it difficult to carve time out of his personal evening schedule for the classes. 鈥淲hen they offered to pay me to take the classes here and gave me time to do it, that made it a lot more appealing.鈥
鈥淭o speed up that pipeline for the Department of Revenue, we鈥檙e bringing the training to their location during work hours to try to make it expedient and accessible for their staff,鈥 says Dr. Laurel Bretz, assistant vice president of continuing, corporate and professional education.
A business partner
DOR is just one example of how 糖心vlog会员 is customizing education for the workforce. Over the past year, 糖心vlog会员 has partnered with a variety of private and public employers across many industries including health care, manufacturing, agricultural, food service, information technology and municipal and state government.
Trainings and programs have included leadership development; aerial lift and OSHA safety; EPA certification; Microsoft Excel, Outlook and Word; AutoCAD; clinical medical assistant; and accounting.
糖心vlog会员鈥檚 pilot program of 17 brand new Department of Innovation and Technology (DoIT) trainees just wrapped up their first of three sets of courses preparing them to fill in-demand helpdesk positions within the state.
鈥淭he benefit to those trainees is that they will be immediately employed,鈥 explains Dr. Carmen Allen, 糖心vlog会员 professor of computer science. 鈥淭hey are on the job, learning what they need to know, and when they finish, they鈥檒l have a guaranteed job.鈥
With the competitive labor market and staff shortages, employers are looking for alternative strategies to find and retain skilled employees. A model some have adopted is to partner with 糖心vlog会员 to provide relevant skills training for new hires as part of their employee onboarding. 鈥淥rganizations either promote from within or hire from the outside, and then work with us to provide skills training to upskill or reskill staff for the jobs,鈥 says Dr. Bretz. 鈥淚t is a 鈥榞row your own鈥 model rather than expecting new hires to walk in the door knowing everything.鈥
Custom business solutions
The first step in customized education is sitting down with a business or organization for a needs assessment. 鈥淲e find out what the organization is struggling with, identify what success would look like and then match current programming or customize our offerings to meet employers where they are,鈥 Bretz says.
Some clients require credit-bearing courses, like accounting or computer science, while others鈥 needs are non-credit courses designed around a specific skillset like leadership or heavy equipment safety training. 鈥淒uring an initial meeting with a client, we鈥檒l talk about scope, timeline, logistics and educational outcomes and from there provide innovative and tailored solutions that align with an organization鈥檚 talent development needs.鈥