Why do employers value noncredit courses
Noncredit courses don't count toward degree requirements, but they're often useful opportunities for employees to learn critical skills that help companies succeed. You might take a course to acquire skills in areas like management, cybersecurity, coding, and leadership.
Despite the growing popularity of noncredit courses, not all companies realize why they should encourage employees to enroll. Keep reading to learn about the benefits of taking these classes, the available learning opportunities, and why so many companies embrace them.
Direct Career Alignment
Taking noncredit courses lets people learn specific skills that apply to their careers. This often happens when you start a new career or need to keep up with changes in your industry. Inevitably, evolving technology will make it necessary for most people to acquire new skills even when they stay in the same positions. These options offer a relatively easy approach to career alignment.
Similarly, you can take noncredit courses to learn skills that will help you qualify for higher-paying jobs. Maybe you've been stuck in a junior coding position for a few years. Taking a few classes could help you stand out for senior coding positions available within your company. Then again, you could gain these advanced skills and move to a new company.
Employer Collaboration
Many companies want their staff members to learn new skills. At the same time, they don't want to pay the high price of college tuition. Noncredit courses can offer a solution that meets both of these conditions.
Companies have a couple of options when choosing classes. They can have employees enroll in options already offered by educational institutions (including online colleges, schools, and professional organizations), or they can work with an educational institution to develop a new one that targets specific skills.
Developing a new learning session often has a higher up-front cost than enrolling workers in existing classes. In exchange for the investment, though, companies can ensure that all courses meet their unique requirements. Bespoke options can also exclude materials staff members already know. By creating a course that targets highly specific areas, you can save time, improve outcomes, and help keep learners engaged.
Keep in mind that companies paying for classes from schools might require employees to continue working in certain positions for an established amount of time. If they leave before that time, the company might hold them responsible for repayment. Employment laws regarding this issue could vary from state to state.
Flexible Formats
Many schools with noncredit courses have online learning options and other flexible formats that conform to the schedules of working people.
If you worry that you won't have a lot of free time to complete a course, look for asynchronous classes. With asynchronous learning, you can complete course materials when it's convenient for you.
With synchronous courses, you'll have to attend at specific times. Often, though, you can attend them online. Remember that missing sessions could mean you don't learn important information presented in lectures. Additionally, some seminars might have attendance requirements. If you skip too many classes, you might not pass.
Practical Skills Application
Practical skills application helps ensure that people on your staff know how to perform their jobs correctly. This is critical in some industries and positions, especially when jobs require high levels of experience to perform tasks safely.
How do you know workers have the skills they need? Courses typically communicate this by awarding credentials and badges to learners who complete them. As long as your employees earn the badge or credential, they should have obtained the required skills.
Recognized Credentials
Noncredit classes could also be used to prepare for professional credentials. For example, someone working in IT might take them to prepare for certifications like Certified Information Systems Manager (CISM), Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP), or AWS Certified Solutions Architect.
Credentials are also popular among professionals growing careers in areas like:
- Accounting
- Administration
- Business analytics
- Data analytics
- Digital marketing
- Health and safety
- Human resources
- Leadership
- Project management
Recognized credentials can vary significantly across industries and positions, though, so it's a good idea to explore options before encouraging people to enroll.
In some cases, industry leaders provide learning opportunities that prepare learners for specific certifications. If you want someone in your IT department to become a Cisco Certified Cybersecurity Professional, it might make sense to have that employee take a prep course directly from Cisco.
When exploring credentials, look for prep opportunities and other resources from the licensing authority. You might choose to rely on another provider, but it helps to know that you have options.
Embracing Noncredit Courses to Train Employees
Creating your own training program can require a lot of time and money. It often makes more sense for companies to choose outside programs that can teach staff members essential skills. Whether those programs come from a university, online training platform, or similar resource, these opportunities help employers and workers stay current with today's evolving job requirements.