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Only 66% of high school graduates enter college. Of those who do, the four-year graduation rate is only 33.3%. That means less than 22 out of every 100 high school graduates will graduate college four years later. Something is obviously wrong.
Furthermore, Americans are increasingly wary of the work readiness of young people, which contributes to fewer and fewer entry-level positions. Only 5% of U.S. adults believe that high school graduates are prepared for success in the workplace and 13% believe that college graduates are work-ready. Also, just 41% of U.S. college students say they feel either very or extremely prepared to enter the workforce .
Skills Academy helps bridge that gap between high school or college and the future, contributing to both preparedness and feelings of preparedness.
As homeschool parents, entrepreneurs conducting business in over 20 countries, consultants, and experts in higher education, we began to realize that there had to be a better way to prepare children for either College, or for their Career. This is where the idea for Skills Academy was born.
We have designed custom programs to teach students the critical skills business owners look for and college professors would be thrilled to see.
Through our live, group-learning modules, students learn from instructors, grow alongside peers, gain valuable insight into themselves, and have opportunities to put their new skills to work. Then they are taught to market themselves by speaking the "skills language" in their resumes and interviews.
Working and doing research in higher education for almost 20 years allowed us to identify skills gaps in the workforce as well as a disconnect between what is taught in school versus what is expected by employers. As business owners and consultants, we also understand why those skills are critical to a student’s success and highly valued by employers.
We identified commonalities in skills sought by employers across most industries, and we designed programs to teach these skills. We also help students understand why the skills are in fact critical to their success and how to put them to use. In other words, we provide them with the formula for success in either college or their career.
Congratulations on becoming a Skills Academy student! You will be contacted by a Skills Academy representative who will ask you some questions about your post-graduation plan. Together we will decide the best module(s) for you to register for. Your subscription allows you to sit in on any module you’d like, but you can choose one module each semester that will be graded and, upon successful completion, you’ll receive a Skills Academy digital certification for. You can include this certification in your online profiles for potential colleges or employers to click on and see the curriculum you studied and skills you acquired.
When you sign up, you’ll pay the first month’s subscription dues to reserve your spot in the upcoming semester’s class. You won’t be charged again until classes start. Classes start in late August in the Fall and early December in the Spring. Once you’re signed up, you’ll receive the final details about the academic calendar. Each year, the schedule will change slightly, but each semester will always be billed for 5 months.
Think of a “stack” like a full skills program. While each module is valuable on its own, “stacking” modules together in a certain order provides the best preparation for success toward your goal (college, career, or entrepreneurship). Once you sign up for a subscription, a Skills Academy representative will get in touch with you to learn your post-graduation plan. If you’d like to complete a stack, we will register you for the correct modules in the correct order. Each stack covers 3 semesters, so make sure you start in plenty of time before your graduation!
There is no contract to become a Skills Academy student. The reason for this is that we are passionate about the importance of developing skills that will lead to students’ success, and we want to serve people who are passionate about acquiring those skills. If you stop wanting to learn and develop personally and professionally with Skills Academy, you can cancel your subscription at any time.
Classes take place via video conferencing each week. Classes are taught by business and higher education experts and hosted on Google Classroom. Links to live classes appear in the weekly assignments on Google Classroom.
Live classes are once per week for one hour, and students will have assignments to complete between classes. Each module takes place over a 15-week period that closely follows a typical academic calendar semester. We honor national holidays, and while frequent attendance is required to receive certification, we understand that things come up, so every class is recorded.
Subscriptions are put on hold for the months of June and July.
Stacks are made up of three or more individual modules that are “stacked” in a way to optimize students' acquisition and mastery of the skills needed for a particular post-graduation goal (college, career, or entrepreneurship).
Yes! Call us to create a specialized “stack” just for you.
Skills Academy instructors are available to speak to you one-on-one via Google Classroom, email, or phone.
Yes, if students are unsatisfied within the first 30 days of a module starting, they can drop enrollment from the module and request a refund.
Yes, we provide each student with personalized feedback throughout the courses. The Skills Academy modules are designed to give students real-world experience. There will be assigned reading and weekly assignments to complete, but much of the value of the modules will come from opportunities to practice skills. Students are asked to think critically, reflect on how what they’ve learned is relevant in their own lives, practice communicating ideas both orally and in writing, understand the value of the skills they’re learning and how they are applied in the workforce, and much more. Students will receive feedback every step of the way.