Employee Education Benefits: The Importance of Professional Development in the Workplace

Throughout the last few years, more and more companies have added continued education for their employees as part of their employee benefits. Although the cost of paying for education for employees may seem daunting, there are numerous benefits for allowing employees to further their professional skills and knowledge. 

A great, and somewhat obvious, reason to provide educational opportunities to employees as part of a company's benefit package is to increase knowledge and technical skills. For instance, an engineering firm providing its interns with the opportunity to take a class to prepare them for the PE exam would help the employee become a licensed engineer. Having professional, licensed engineers would significantly increase employee talent and would expand the company's overall resources, as professional engineers are needed to carry out specific tasks. According to a study performed by SHRM, 72% of companies in the United States offer professional development opportunities to their employees.ⁱ

Providing educational benefits for employees will also increase employee retention. When it comes to generational differences, 87% of millennials have been reported as listing "professional or career growth and development opportunities" as an important factor when choosing to stay long-term with a company. 69% of non-millennials agree that professional growth and education is an important aspect to have in a company.ⁱⁱ Even when an individual is looking for a new job, continued education opportunities are often viewed as an important factor when evaluating a job offer. The main reason in this is that continued education makes the employee feel appreciated, valued, and increases overall happiness in the workplace. "Many employees value the personal enhancement that continued education provides... Fulfilled employees are happier employees who perform better and have increased loyalty to the employer who made this enrichment possible."ⁱⁱⁱ 

For companies that want to provide education opportunities for their employees, an optimal solution is to find an educational provider that offers corporate packages. Among the reasons listed above for providing employees educational opportunities, continued education will significantly benefit your employee as well as the company as a whole.

References 

i. 2017 EMPLOYEE BENEFITS. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.shrm.org/ hr-today/trends-and-forecasting/ research-and-surveys/ Documents/ 2017 Employee Benefits Report.pdf 

ii. Gallup, Inc. Millennials Want Jobs to Be Development Opportunities. Retrieved from https://www.gallup.com/ workplace/236438/ millennials-jobs development-opportunities.aspx

iii. Furthering Your Employees' Education is Good for Business. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.wolterskluwer.com/en/expert-insights/furthering-your-employees-education-is-good-for-business