An international study indicated approximately 43 million working-age Americans lack the skills needed for many of the nation’s fastest-growing and highest-paying jobs. According to the U.S. Census, there are over 22 million adults in the U.S. without a high school diploma. 

With reskilling and upskilling programs in place, adult education is an economic catalyst to help adults and their communities recover from the financial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our programs provide numerous options for participation, including working from home or receiving in-person instruction. 

Metro North ABE joins more than 65,000 adult educators in “Moving Ahead with Adult Ed,” a new national campaign to enroll adult learners into programs that equip them with skills that lead to high school equivalency and jobs that pay a family-sustaining wage. Millions of Americans are out of work or underemployed and need to reskill or upskill to re-enter the workforce or pursue their education. The pandemic has exacerbated the need for services.

Metro North ABE programs currently provide instruction in skills to increase English proficiency, study for a certificate like Commercial Driver’s license, or test prep to enter college programs, as well as, earning a high school equivalency degree. All of these opportunities are available online, while some of our sites are also open for in-person instruction where CDC guidelines and sanitation protocols are in place to ensure a safe learning environment.

“Adult basic provides on-ramps to better jobs and to community college,” said Theresa Zingrey, Community Education Manager at Anoka-Hennepin Schools. “With adult education, the infrastructure is in place to reskill and upskill Americans and not only get them back into the workforce but get them into better jobs than they had before the pandemic.”

Campaign partners Coalition on Adult Basic Education and the National Association of State Directors of Adult Education also estimate that for every dollar invested in adult education, a community receives $60 back in increased income, property taxes and savings on public assistance and legal-system expenses.

The #MovingAheadWithAdultEd campaign focuses on re-engaging the millions of Americans who are in need of additional skills to compete in the workforce to recover financially from the pandemic. In addition to providing industry skills training, adult education programs teach literacy, numeracy and digital literacy, as well as offer high school equivalency classes.

These opportunities are not just for students, but for companies as well. If you have found yourself needing to reskill your workforce to meet changing demands in a new marketplace, Metro North ABE can partner with you and provide your staff the skills they need to help them keep their job or advance to the next level. You can customize our instruction to suit your workplace needs or you could link students to a class that works around their work schedule.

Please contact Metro North for more information. info@metronorthabe.org or 763-433-4200