Workplace continuous education, also referred to as continuing professional education, is a highly coveted benefit to employees that also benefits the employer. You can offer continuing education opportunities to your employees in the form of tuition reimbursement or as internal educational opportunities that are directly related to the jobs they do now. You can measure the benefits of continuing education throughout the company.
Profits
The most noticeable place you will see the benefits of continuous education is in increased profits, as employees are able to apply their education to making the company money. Continuing education means you have employees on staff who familiar with the latest innovations in the industry. They can help you applies these innovations to your processes so you can stay ahead of the competition and increase your profitability.
Productivity
Employees who are current on the latest innovation can lead the company to improving productivity through implementation of new methods and technology, combined with the creativity of student learning. Students spend more time actively using their minds than employees who may have done the same job for years and can now complete task by rote. Active-minded continuous education students may also perform tasks more quickly. Those hours saved in production can add up quickly to money saved in wages. This can easily offset the cost of offering continuous education benefits to your employees.
Retention
Employees who are offered educational benefits are more apt to stay with the company. One reason they stay is that they value the opportunity to keep current in their field without the need to change jobs or foot the bill themselves for classes. They will likely feel more fulfilled in their current positions because you are alleviating feelings of stagnation. You benefit because you can build your upper management staffing from within. Not only can you find qualified worker applicants from within, but they will have unique knowledge of your organization that external applicants do not have.
Value
Employees offered continuing education opportunities feel valued and are comforted thinking that the company would not spend the money to educate them unless you planned to keep them on the payroll. You benefit because you have a cutting-edge staff. You also have the added comfort that if profits take a dive and you must lay off employees, you're providing them with a benefit they can take with them. An employer recommendation goes a long way toward helping them get a new job, and a recommendation with a leading-edge education puts them even further ahead of the competition.