American’s Turning to Online Education In Order To Further Job Skills

“People are losing jobs every day,” notes Dr. Michael K. Clifford, whose firm, SignificantFederation, LLC, creates strategies based on confidential relationships with entrepreneurs and CEOs in order to help people find their dreams and succeed. Its strategic approach has created hundreds of millions of dollars in value for its co-investors, management teams and entrepreneurial ventures.

"[Job loss] is driving their need to refresh existing skills and develop new ones," said Clifford. "Online education, with its financial aid options and non-linear learning model, offers adult learners the opportunity for intellectual and professional improvement."

Clifford was an evangelist for online education long before the recession tightened its grip on the United States last fall. Now he's an even bigger proponent, given its potential for helping the country recover its footing.

"Being enrolled in online education gives adult learners the flexibility to leverage a student loan for living expenses, gain new skills, and continue searching for an even better employment situation than the one lost," said Clifford. "Being engaged in learning engenders a positive attitude, allowing the adult learner to say: 'I am in school improving myself. I would like to add value to your company.' It demonstrates the individual's desire to grow, learn, and be productive."

Clifford went on to point out that "during the Great Depression of the 1930s, the U.S. Government created public works in order to create jobs. In this most recent economic downturn some are comparing to the Great Depression, the new frontier is the Internet. Digital education is just beginning to revolutionize post-secondary education outside the traditional bricks-and-mortar setting.

"Thanks to the careful regulatory oversight from the U.S. Department of Education, as well as state and regional accrediting commissions, the delivery of rigorous, relevant, real-world education via the Internet on a global basis is increasing at an astonishing speed."

Making up a truly "green industry," online degree-granting institutions may provide the single most important product to America's ability to compete in the world economy: affordable relevant education accessible to anyone, anywhere, any time, according to Clifford.