Google has an educational reimbursement plan. They will pay up to $8,000 for an employee to take work related courses at an outside institution. They also offer the employee a maximum of 5 years off and up to $150,000 if an employee wants to pursue a further education full-time.
Your company may not be able to give such generous benefits, but you can provide a library of resources that your staff can listen to, read, and watch at work or at home. You will be surprised how many employees want to learn more about their field of work if they have easy access to it.
You can also create an incentive for your employees to read one book, watch a video or listen to an audio book that will help them figure out ways to improve their performance. The incentive could be simple like letting the employee go home an hour early if they hand in a short report about what they learned.
All they will need to do is provide a half page synopsis along with a suggestion on how the company can improve based on an idea from the book. The employee and company both win.
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As you realize life does not have to seem as you have perceived it to this point, you begin to rise to a new level of responsibility. This is a stage in realizing you are the captain of your own ship, the master of your own evolution.
Hi Karl: I think it`s vital that companies offer their employees continuing education. One thing I will say about the Panama Canal Authority is that they were big on training; I took classes there on everything you can imagine: accounting, negotiation, giving effective presentations, the history of the negotiations of the Panama Canal, and so on. I like your idea of providing employees with a library and other resources.
It’s good that google provides incentives for their employees who continue their education and/or training.