Continuing education marketing

The continuing education and adult education movement began in the twentieth century. As the world shifted towards an industrialized economy, the need for continuing education and improved access for adults challenged traditional educational facilities and created opportunities to improve professional and personal skills. Several environmental factors are driving the demand for lifelong learning in the 21st century: abundant access to information, rapid technological changes, increasing global interactions, industry shifts, as well as increasing credentials and skills requirements. We will elaborate Continuing education marketing in this article.

Employers rely on continuing education as a tool to secure a highly skilled and experienced workforce. Individuals use continuing education to improve career mobility, enhance work and personal enrichment.

8 benefits of investing in continuing education:

1. Career guidance : after completing a new course, the professional will be able to set new goals for their career with a focus on their professional growth;
2. Outplacement in the market : the possibility of receiving a satisfactory job offer increases a lot when the professional seeks to acquire new knowledge and tries to keep up-to-date on market trends;
3. Network of contacts : continuing education provides the opportunity to expand the network of contacts and meet people in the same area, essential for exchanging experiences and keeping up-to-date on news in the sector;
4. Above average remuneration: including new skills in the curriculum makes the professional even more qualified and, consequently, it will be possible to negotiate a higher salary;
5. Reference in the market: the specialized professional will have more chances to understand the market demands, as well as to present innovative solutions and, consequently, can become a reference in the company;
6. Highlight in selection processes: after including new courses and specializations in the curriculum, the professional will be able to stand out in the selection processes due to the differentials they can offer;
7. Participate in strategic actions: instead of carrying out tasks considered operational, the specialized professional will be responsible for thinking about new strategies to improve the company’s results;
8. Influence on results: after acquiring new knowledge in their area of ​​expertise, the professional will be able to be part of the company’s strategic core and, consequently, will be increasingly relevant to the organization.

How to apply continuing education in practice?

It is essential to understand that continuing education requires the educational institution to see the potential or current student as a source of credibility. Therefore, one of the secrets to promote it is to make you a fan of the institution. In this way:

1) Offer professional courses

In short, vocational courses are known for having a more specific approach, more focused on the labor market. 

Unlike academic courses, they generally do not require prerequisites and are aimed at professionals who want to improve skills useful for their field of work. This means that, in general, vocational courses are short. In addition, they are aimed at those people who are looking to update themselves on a very specific subject and quickly. 

2) Encourage hybrid learning

The traditional teaching model is adapting to the constant changes that have taken place in the educational environment. Faced with this, the hybrid teaching modality has been gaining strength. In fact, it is revolutionizing the way IEs offer the entire educational service experience.

In summary, hybrid teaching is a teaching modality that combines traditional face-to-face teaching, in which the process takes place in the classroom, and online, which uses digital technologies to promote teaching. In other words, it is a hybrid teaching model as it unites two different formats.

3) Offer and encourage the acquisition of postgraduate courses

This academic background is very attractive, especially for those students who are finishing or who have just finished their undergraduate course. 

Therefore, the tip is to show the benefits that these courses bring to your professional career. Also point out issues such as MEC grades, technological structure, payment terms, discounts, flexibility, quality of the faculty, testimonies of students and alumni… all of this will be able to persuade your lead and take it to action. 

4) Encourage the permanence of the student who is already part of your student board

In the case of students who are already part of the IE student body, a macro way to make them finish the higher education course and continue at the institution until the conclusion of the post-graduate or master’s degree is, throughout the course of graduation:

• Create opportunities to connect the student with outreach activities. They will, in addition to improving their engagement with the course, increase the average IE ticket;
• Maintain an excellent relationship with him, from the dean to the janitor. Think about it: he won’t stay at his educational institution if he doesn’t feel well cared for there.

What is the future of Continuing Education?

Abundant access to information, rapid technological changes, increasing global interactions, changes in the industry, as well as increasing credentials and skills requirements ensure that Continuing Education will continue to be a valuable resource for managers in the future .

Managers will continue to rely on continuing education as a tool to ensure a highly skilled and experienced workforce. Individuals will engage in lifelong learning as a means to improve career mobility, improve employment and improve quality of life.

Rising interest in lifelong learning, along with rapid technological advances and demands on individual personal time, will ensure that educational options will continue to be flexible and adjusted within the limits of personal time and organizational priorities. The growing global economy will continue to drive the development of learning activities that span geographic regions and time zones, enabling individuals around the world to collaborate and learn together.

Organizations around the world will depend on continuing education to maintain competitive positions and embrace current innovations. Managers will depend on lifelong learning to produce a workforce with the knowledge-based skill set and solution needed for organizational growth.