Recent growth in investment, mergers, and acquisitions is bringing up questions relating to the focus on the third sector of education. The term “the third sector of education” is considered to be millions of adults who continue to learn, past their secondary and post-secondary education. Coined and used by Jeff Cobb and Celisa Steele, co-founders Tagoras, and content providers from Leading Learning

Many providers make up the third sector of education.  For example, corporate learning and development, learntech companies, and community education all fall into this sector.  Even social networking companies like Facebook and LinkedIn, play are role in continuing education.  In addition, learning businesses, which is where Leading Learning focuses, are a key part of the third sector of education.  They include academic continuing education units, training companies, solo eduprenuers, and trade and professional associations.

Cobb and Steele express how important the third sector is considering its size of the current business climate in their weekly podcast. They relate the following five developments as the foundation for the growth in the third sector:  

  1. Humans are living longer and change jobs and even careers more frequently.   
  2. Growth of technology allows more people to learn anytime, anywhere.
  3. The extremely large surge in content on the internet. 
  4. Recent strides in science regarding learning being a lifelong process.  
  5. Lastly, the pivot in the need for education in all new ways due to the disruption from the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Importance of the Third Sector 

The third sector will provide a growing number of continuous learners with resources needed to navigate the changing landscape of our future. Advancing technologies and dynamic platforms for learning like Freestone is necessary to provide access to education that fits a wide variety of needs.  

Freestone provides an intuitive, user-friendly experience that makes it easy to both present and participate in events. Featuring a variety of interactive tools that help online courses meet live learning requirements, this customizable solution not only makes a powerful LMS first impression.  It also provides a seamless administrative experience for organizations seeking to build content offerings and identifying potential revenue opportunities. 

To learn more about how Freestone delivers a powerful learning experience that meets the needs of both presenters and participants, contact us today for a guided demo of the platform.