Schools Look For New Ways to Attract Corporate Clients

Jonathan Lekstutis
November 14, 2007

The 2006 State of the Industry Report by the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD) shows that U.S employers spend approximately $109 Billion annually on employee learning and development. Out of those dollars the report states that $29.5 billion is spent on outside sources such as consultants and university contract education programs.

With so much money being spent by companies to improve their workforce educational institutions are revamping their programs to try to attract corporate dollars. Schools are altering their programs and changing traditional college courses to meet the needs of these corporations. Leaving past practices behind, universities are partnering with companies. As a result they are trying to deliver solid tangible results that corporations can observe.

The educational institution’s hope is that these changes will lead to them getting more training dollars and help them develop relationships with employers to build this country’s workforce. Many schools are tailoring their programs to meet the high area needs and some are even creating programs just to meet the needs of employers.