Coalition for the Common Good adds 20-plus workforce partners

The Coalition for the Common Good is expanding its employer-based education model in its fourth year, with more than 20 partners now using flexible degrees, credentials, and training to help workers learn without leaving their jobs. The effort is aimed at helping organizations build and retain talent while widening access to higher education across the country.

Why it matters: - The Coalition for the Common Good is trying to solve two problems at once: workforce shortages and limited access to higher education for working adults. - Employers and membership groups can use the model to attract, develop, and keep talent with education benefits tied directly to the job. - The approach extends higher education into workplaces, online settings, and hybrid formats, which can reduce barriers for employees and their families.

What happened: - The Coalition for the Common Good said it is expanding a national workforce-development model as it enters its fourth year. - More than 20 organizations have joined the CCG partnership network, with additional collaborations in development. - The model now reaches healthcare, education, nonprofit, military, and industry partners. - The partnerships are designed to deliver education at work, online, on campus, or in hybrid formats.

The details: - Partner organizations can offer customized training, seminars, workshops, stackable credentials, credit-bearing certificates, and tuition benefits. - Programs can be tailored for members, employees, and employees’ families. - The Coalition says the model serves partners coast-to-coast. - John Comerford, president of the CCG, said partners can expect flexible, accessible, innovative educational opportunities that support their workforce. - Comerford also said tuition discounts for undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral programs are an added benefit that can help organizations compete for talent. - InnoSource worked with the CCG to create “InnoSkilling,” a program that combines customized job training with higher-education credit. - Multiple InnoSkilling cohorts have completed the program, and InnoSource has reported stronger retention among participating employees. - Columbus City Schools is working with the CCG to expand access to school counseling programs, teacher apprenticeship pathways, management and leadership degrees, certifications, and continuing-education opportunities. - Michelle Koppitz, associate vice president for strategic initiatives at the CCG, said the Coalition aims to minimize barriers by meeting people where they are, especially at work. - Other partners include Alliance of Hazardous Materials Professionals (AHMP), Behavioral Health Partners of Central Ohio, Blue Star Families, City of Columbus, Columbus Early Learning Center, Educational Service Center of Central Ohio, Infant Massage USA, Kettering Health Network, LA Urban League, Landmark College, Maricopa Community College, Nationwide Children’s Hospital, NEA-New Hampshire, OhioHealth, Premier Health Network, River Valley Community College, Service!/Cafe Overlook, Sinclair College, and Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. - More partners are listed online at current workforce partnerships. - The Coalition also directs readers to more information and the email address partnerships@antioch.edu.

Between the lines: - The partnership list shows the CCG is moving beyond a single-sector education model and into employer-led talent strategy. - The emphasis on stackable credentials and tuition benefits suggests the Coalition is packaging higher education as a retention tool, not just a learning option. - The broad mix of partners indicates demand for flexible credentialing across both public and private organizations.

What’s next: - The Coalition says additional collaborations are in development. - CCG expects to keep growing its partner network as it works to serve organizations nationwide. - Otterbein University and Antioch University, the founding members of the Coalition, continue to anchor the system as it expands.

The bottom line: - The Coalition for the Common Good is betting that employer-linked education can help organizations keep workers while giving adults a practical path to degrees and credentials.