According to research by Bright Horizons less than half of the employees said they have been able to pursue educational goals in the last five years, mostly due to the time commitment and financial obstacles
Meanwhile, minority groups struggle more than others. For instance, 44% of Black employees said that they find it hard to afford education compared with 29% of white employees. The same applies to women since 36% of working women report financial hurdles in education compared to 22% of men.
“There are still the constraints that all working adults have: time, the financial commitment and having the confidence to go back to the classroom,” said Jill Buban, a workplace education expert and general manager of EdAssist, a division of Bright Horizon focused on workforce education.
EdAssist works with companies like Accenture, Bank of America and T-Mobile to develop up-skilling programs.
“These benefits can give that extra boost,” Buban said. “That can be a real game-changer.”
In addition, “with the increased opportunity for distance learning, people can enroll in a program online perhaps that they haven’t been able to do in the past,” Jilek said.
