Last week I had the pleasure of joining 12 graduates from one of GreenFig's inaugural classes at Marketo’s Marketing Nation Summit. While this was not my first rodeo, it was fun to participate with college students and recent grads, as they marveled at the Hollywood-like world of technology user conferences. Amidst Queen Latifah, James Corden, and Entourage-level parties, we also found a commitment to education and an opportunity for all marketers, regardless of their skills or background to learn and grow.
At this event, Marketo announced a partnership with GreenFig, a micro education company, offering microdegrees in applied business science. Our first course is in digital marketing science, where a comprehensive marketing curriculum provides students with the knowledge and experience they need to understand the science of end-to-end digital marketing, including content strategy, account-based marketing, setting up and running Marketo, and so much more.
The Education System is Ripe for Change
Bruce Cleveland, our co-founder and chairman of the board at GreenFig, is passionate about the topic of re-skilling the workforce for the digital economy, because, in order to foster innovation, accelerate revenue growth, and increase profit margins, companies are “digitizing” nearly every business function. The centralized factories and hard machinery that dominated the last industrial age are being replaced with service-related jobs, distributed work environments, powered by “soft machinery” – business application software – supplied by companies such as Google, IBM, Marketo, Microsoft, Oracle, Salesforce, and SAP, to name a few. You can read his recent post on the topic here.
As a result of this seismic shift, there are thousands of well-paying jobs that are vacant, as there are too few who are trained and qualified to fulfill the roles. At the same time, the college curriculum cannot keep up with the pace of change, creating a larger gap between what industry needs and what colleges can provide.
The best quote I heard at Marketo Summit was, “GreenFig definitely caught my attention during the keynote as I have joked for a long time that I learned more about digital marketing from Marketo's Definitive Guides than from my MBA.” Anyone who has consumed these informative guides from Marketo will get this!
That speaks volumes regarding the lack of education currently available and confirms that a microdegree from a micro education company will provide the kind of training that is a “must have” for both individuals and employers as we move further into the digital era. Our program offers digital marketing proficiency in 200 hours, a certificate from Marketo and Google, and actual work experience – the stuff that builds resumes and helps our students get jobs.
Learn more about Marketo and GreenFig’s commitment to education, and enjoy this video, starring Steve Lucas, CEO of Marketo and our own Bruce Cleveland.
It warms my heart to watch individuals learn and grow - whether it is a student unsure of their career path, a stay at home mom wanting to get back into the workforce, a veteran looking for skills to get them that amazing job they deserve – there are opportunities for everyone earning a microdegree from GreenFig. In fact, we have hired two recent graduates to be part of our team – they have the skills we need to build our marketing department quickly. We call them “the Figgies” and I love seeing their curiosity fed, their passion grow. Thank you Marketo and GreenFig for making that possible.
