3 Questions for Kaitlin Dumont, Kaplan’s New Director of Workforce Studying Innovation — science weblog
You may keep in mind Kaitlin Dumont from the Q&A she and I did when she first pivoted from greater schooling, as a pacesetter in government schooling on the Tuck Faculty of Enterprise at Dartmouth, the place she and I have been shut colleagues, to Kaplan as director of college companions—or that
time we mentioned her personal expertise as a working grownup learner in Boston College’s low-cost on-line M.B.A. program by means of the Questrom Faculty of Enterprise (as I’ve lengthy written concerning the rise of low-cost, scaled on-line diploma packages from universities with world manufacturers).
Properly, Kaitlin and I have been catching up earlier this yr strolling across the scenic Occom Pond on the Dartmouth campus, and he or she shared that she not too long ago began a brand new position at Kaplan (new to her, and new to the group) as director of workforce studying innovation. I used to be intrigued about how Kaplan is positioning itself for the longer term on the intersection of upper schooling and company studying and growth, and Kaitlin graciously agreed to reply my questions.
Q: “Director of workforce studying innovation”—you actually picked all the fashionable buzzwords to your new title, didn’t you! What does workforce studying innovation imply to you, and the way is Kaplan positioning itself on this area?
A: It’s true! All over the place you look, there appears to be a brand new piece on the ever-widening expertise hole and super have to upskill and reskill the workforce for the longer term or questioning the worth of a “conventional” greater schooling diploma and the necessity to imbue these packages with work-relevant experiences. Given my distinctive background, first working with company studying and growth leaders on the college facet, and extra not too long ago working with college leaders on the associate facet—it solely made sense that Kaplan created a job that allows me to proceed to play within the messy center and work to resolve some to the vital studying challenges of our time.
I rapidly got here to appreciate early in my tenure at Kaplan that there could also be no different firm on the planet as uniquely positioned with a breadth of world relationships in each greater ed and company sectors. Whereas the group got here from humble beginnings (Stanley Kaplan, after being denied entrance to medical college as a result of Jewish quotas—regardless of being on the high of his class—started tutoring college students in his father or mother’s basement in Brooklyn with the mission of entry, fairness and eliminating boundaries to instructional and profession aspirations), during the last 80-plus years, Kaplan has grown to [be] a serious globally diversified instructional providers associate, and a strategic marketing consultant to universities and companies alike.
It’s humorous, I used to be at a household marriage ceremony not too long ago and when sharing with some prolonged kin what I did for work. I obtained the (no longer stunning) response, “Kaplan? The SAT check prep guys? What do you do for them?” and I like that second! It offers me the chance to share all the superb work Kaplan is concerned with to actually transfer the needle on studying innovation—from revolutionary new options within the vital career-readiness area, just like the award-winning Kaplan Profession Core—to reinventing the enterprise mannequin on extra traditional choices, like our All Entry subscription for universities to supply industry-recognized credentials, skilled licensure and, sure—check preparation to all of their college students (enjoyable reality, we’re partnering with Inside Increased Ed on a webinar to do a deep dive on how Cleveland State College is leveling the taking part in subject with this method!). We additionally have interaction in deeply consultative partnerships with firms as we assist them remodel into true studying organizations for workers, shifting from merely “schooling as a profit” to “studying as a method” with a spotlight not solely on content material and curation of choices, however a deep experience in coach and advising (one other enjoyable reality, Kaplan is offering all the teaching for Amazon’s Profession Alternative program!).
All the components are there. The following step is for Kaplan to proceed to create actual affect by means of aligning all of those companions throughout our studying ecosystem (to paraphrase one other Tuck colleague and pal, Professor Ron Adner!)
Q: “Aligning companions throughout the ecosystem”—are you able to share extra about what you imply by that?
A: One other Tuck school member I used to work with, Professor Vijay “VG” Govindarjan, used to joke that he was going to take the “motherhood and apple pie” mission statements of the Fortune 100 and rearrange them below the quilt of dusk and see if anybody observed the following morning. I really feel like I went by means of an analogous course of studying by means of college strategic plans this previous yr—all of them go a bit one thing like this: “we are going to endeavor to distinguish ourselves by means of our educational excellence to recruit high college students, we are going to assist these college students and retain them by means of profitable commencement, we may have a concerted concentrate on our DEI initiatives, all to in the end create significant profession outcomes.” Whereas I say this a bit tongue-in-cheek, there may be in reality a convergence and an urgency round these 4 themes—(1) recruitment, (2) retention, (3) DEI initiatives and (4) profession outcomes.
It’s not so totally different on the company facet—I do know we’re all bored with listening to concerning the “nice resignation” within the wake of the pandemic, however there’s a actual urgency amongst employers round these identical 4 themes—(1) recruit high expertise, (2) retain them, (3) concentrate on DEI initiatives and (4) and resolve for the primary three by means of significant profession paths within the firm.
The answer is to create a symbiotic ecosystem by which each universities and firms ship on the last word worth proposition to the learner: to develop the information and expertise they want to reach the workforce and society. By partnering with universities as sources of expertise and complementing their college experiences with our personal professionally directed content material, Kaplan can create significant pathways for certified people to advance, whether or not that’s shifting on to a complicated diploma within the profession they wish to pursue, or discovering nice jobs with our company companions (symbiotically rising the recruitment and retention for the college associate with this enhancement to their worth proposition). Conversely, when our company companions need to upskill and reskill their current expertise to affect enterprise outcomes, Kaplan generally is a true strategic associate in not solely curating studying experiences from our college companions but additionally augmenting college content material with our personal industry-recognized credentials, skilled licensure and check preparation—in addition to a robust experience in teaching and advising—it’s a win-win-win for all!
Q: OK, crystal ball time—what does the longer term maintain? What are your predictions?
A: I not too long ago had a possibility to gaze into my notoriously foggy crystal ball with a few of my fellow Kaplan colleagues across the globe and put collectively a collection of predictions for the yr forward, and I feel we’re hitting a degree of market saturation in the case of sheer quantity of each diploma and nondegree credentials (over one million in distinctive credentials within the U.S. in line with Credential Engine’s December 2022 report!), and I predict the way forward for studying shall be in content material curation and profession navigation help. This advantages each the learner, who’s making an attempt to make selections about their profession and academic pathway, but additionally universities in supporting and advising their college students, and firms in upskilling and interesting their staff to in the end ship worth for the agency.
The kicker is how do you standardize and consolidate content material curation at scale whereas balancing monetary ROI with different measures resembling goal and that means that comes by means of aligning strengths, values and pursuits with a profession journey—solely time will inform, however I’m hopeful that’s the route we’re shifting in, and Kaplan is poised to paved the way.
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3 Questions for Kaitlin Dumont, Kaplan’s New Director of College Companions