The importance of learning and development (L&D) can’t be understated in today’s competitive business landscape, but finding ways to affordably create, implement, and deliver workforce training remains a challenge for many organizations. Employers are increasingly turning to qualified external partners to help them build the flexible L&D opportunities they’re seeking.
Champlain College Online is one such partner. In 2019, through our truED program, we helped 80+ organizations save $5.6 million in tuition dollars while helping them upskill their workforces in critical areas such as information technology, management and leadership, cybersecurity, healthcare, and more.
In working closely with our partner organizations, we’ve seen business needs shift over time, with a new demand for today’s L&D programs to be more cost-effective, more accessible, and more flexible. In response, we’ve created Champlain Custom Solutions, designed to help you create internal L&D offerings that meet your unique needs. These include:
- Champlain Activate, a process for assessing internal training and professional development opportunities for college credit. Through Champlain Activate, you can drive value back to the investments you’ve already made in L&D content and reduce organizational spend in the form of tuition reimbursement, with the added bonus of helping your students get a head start in an affordable, reputable academic program. We will work with you to identify critical workforce needs and build specific academic pathways connected to the opportunities you’re already providing to your workforce.
- Champlain Stackables, a portfolio of modularized, short-form offerings focusing on specific content areas such as leadership or management. This can take various forms: for example, Champlain might help you create a leadership academy designed for the emerging manager, consisting of modules chosen from our a la carte menu, or create a list of customized four-week courses that employees can choose from individually. All of these modules would be designed to build toward college credit for a Champlain certificate or degree, or be designated for continuing education credits (CEUs).
- Champlain On-Demand, a series of short-form, self-paced learning options designed to address skill gaps and employee competencies in specific areas of business need. These modular options require less time and financial investment, and are a great way to help train your workforce in a new or emerging area, such as cybersecurity, to create an immediate business impact.
While there are many existing training programs offering modularized, focused learning options to organizations and their employees, there’s a significant benefit to partnering with a higher education institution. What sets an institution like Champlain apart from other L&D providers is the depth of knowledge and value our learning pathways can provide. By providing L&D opportunities that can be stacked into real credentials, you’ll create both an immediate impact by addressing skill gaps in the short term, while also investing in future workforce growth through relevant degree and certificate programs.
Champlain has a long history in both online higher education and workforce development. Established in 1878, we began offering online learning in 1993, and created our truED program in 2012 to meet the growing need for affordable, career-focused higher education opportunities and custom L&D initiatives in the workforce. Through truED, we work closely with public-sector, nonprofit, and private-sector organizations to create unique solutions to address critical workforce challenges, and give their employees the opportunity to acquire in-demand skills through accelerated online classes, immediately applicable coursework, immersive labs, and engaging discussions with industry peers and practitioner-expert faculty.
To learn more about how truED can help your business address its workforce needs, visit online.champlain.edu/truED, or reach out to me directly at gclevenger@champlain.edu.
Gabriel Clevenger is the Assistant Vice President of Enrollment Management at Champlain College Online, leading efforts to sustain enrollment growth and overseeing the strategic direction and growth of Champlain’s truED partnership program.
