What Should I Ask to Get My Employer to Pay For School?

Studies show that the workforce is evolving, and many individuals aren’t in the same roles for years but are returning to school to prepare for the shifts in work. If you haven’t read our first post, “How to Do I Get My Employer to Pay for School,” stop what you are doing and read that one first. Today’s blog post is a continuation of that post. In the posts, we talked about gathering information before you schedule a meeting with HR.

#1:believe they will pay for it

Here are two additional suggestions for what to do before the meeting.

1. See if your employer has a history of working with a particular institution, college, department, or certificate program.

2. Review your employee handbook, website, and intranet sites to see if they mention paying for education or tuition reimbursement.

#2: Remember that Getting into school and getting funding from your employer is a process.

Stop it now. I hear you saying, I know my job won’t pay for school. They don’t care about my professional development(PD) or desire for more education.

What evidence do you have that supports your idea?

Let me ask you some questions related to your professional development.

• How many conferences have you attended?

• Has anyone other than yourself paid for you to attend a conference, symposium, or workshop where you received information and materials on specific subjects?

• How many webinars have you attended to improve your skills?

• How many articles, tweets, social media posts, and videos have you consumed that speak to the work you are doing now and hope to do in the future?

Your answers reflect that, like most organizations, you invest in your education and PD. Some organizations appear not to value PD. However, they would if you asked and presented a pitch to reflect the value it brings to you and the organization. Here’s the reality. Your education is about developing skills, knowledge, and abilities to prepare you to succeed professionally and personally. However, some employers don’t value education, so you must make the case for your employer. Write down questions you have about professional development and educational assistance.

If you are like me and need a COACH who gives you a step-by-step process for securing funding from your employer, guided questions to ask HR about educational assistance, plus accountability and check-ins, then Apply to Graduate School is here to help you. Schedule a meeting to discuss the Apply to Graduate School Coaching program.