As rapid industry shifts and economic disruptions displace workers across sectors, higher education institutions are uniquely positioned to bridge the skills gap with timely, relevant programming. To meet the evolving demands of today’s workforce, colleges must embrace flexibility, prioritize access and create learning environments that support both personal reinvention and professional growth.
In this interview, Ross Pearo discusses the role of brand trust in adult learner engagement, along with the importance of speed to market and modular content.
The EvoLLLution (Evo): What does Harvard’s new program for displaced workers signal about the broader role higher ed must play in workforce recovery and economic resilience?
Ross Pearo (RP): Higher education has always stepped up to support workforce transitions, and access is part of our DNA at Harvard’s Division of Continuing Education. While this isn’t new for us, the timing is critical. As industry and government face unprecedented shifts, higher ed has a transformational role to play, not just in delivering rigorous content but in creating experiences that empower individuals to reinvent themselves. And for displaced workers, learning alongside peers, not just asynchronously, is a key part of that transformation.
Evo: How can colleges and universities structure their offerings to truly be career responsive, especially for adults facing those different types of transitions?
RP: It comes down to flexibility and relevance. Every institution brings unique strengths. Some excel at asynchronous content, others at cohort learning or dynamic teaching. The key is not trying to do it all. For adults in transition, the best path often involves drawing on multiple institutions, from a place like Harvard to a local community college, depending on their goals and needs.
Evo: What are the essential ingredients of a workforce development program that balance speed to market with academic integrity and learner impact?
RP: It is vital to offer diverse content and delivery formats. Not everything needs to follow one model or appeal to a single learning style. Some content—like what we’ve created in the noncredit space—is short form and highly situational. Other programs require longer-form learning to build broader capabilities.
For this program, speed to market was essential. We saw an immediate need and wanted to get something into learners’ hands quickly. Normally, our professional and executive development programs take six to nine months from concept to launch. This one came together in just five weeks—a significant shift for us.
What made that possible was the modular nature of our content. We had already developed many of the building blocks and simply needed to reassemble them to meet a specific market need. We brought in four instructors, each teaching a distinct topic. These were individuals we knew could deliver well, since they’d already taught this material successfully in other formats. We weren’t creating something entirely new, just applying proven content in a new way.
We also chose instructors with different teaching styles. Some are warm and discussion-driven, others more analytical and content-focused. That variety helps different learners engage in ways that resonate. Because we trusted the content and the instructors, we were confident in the quality. We could move fast without sacrificing the learner experience. And when all the pieces came together, we knew this program would deliver real impact.
Evo: How do you view the role of your institutional brand and trust in attracting specifically adult learners to workforce development pathways, especially in this competitive landscape?
RP: That’s a question we wrestle with often. The Harvard brand is powerful, but it can be a double-edged sword. It signals quality, but for many it conjures images of Harvard College or professional schools with single-digit acceptance rates. At the Division of Continuing Education, we aim to shift that perception. We believe that anyone with the academic ability, interest and rigor should have access to Harvard-level programs, regardless of their background.
In many ways, the brand acts as a trust signal. It can accelerate the decision-making process for learners. If you’re confident in the quality, you can focus instead on whether a program is the right fit. Does the content resonate with your needs? Is the format one where you’ll thrive? That shift in focus can make a big difference for adult learners navigating crowded options.
Brand also offers a framework for choosing between learning from a university or a commercial provider. Some skills, like negotiation, may be best taught through an academic lens, grounded in research and pedagogy. Others, like resume writing, might be more impactful when taught by someone deeply embedded in day-to-day professional practice. It’s not about one being better than the other; it’s about matching the learning objective to the source.
Giving learners that clarity—and the ability to choose based on trust and relevance—is key. Whether they’re turning to a university program or something like LinkedIn Learning, understanding where each learning opportunity fits into their journey is an essential part of the workforce development equation.
Evo: What advice would you give to other higher ed leaders in this space trying to tackle displaced workers or just workforce development in general?
RP: We’re learning a lot as we go. So much of our work in professional and executive development has centered on the classroom experience, often with cohorts of 30 to 45 students. But with this program we wanted to reach up to 300 learners. We had to be sure the platform could support the kind of learning experience we believe in at that scale, since this program is quite different from some of our large-enrollment online credit-bearing courses the Harvard Extension School offers.
A big part of our approach has been recognizing our strengths and being honest about what’s outside our scope. We’ve been intentional about staying focused on what we do well, rather than stretching into areas that don’t align with our capabilities or values. From the start, our goal was to support a population in need and deliver something that made a real difference.
More than many parts of the university, we have the ability to reach broad audiences and help them see what kinds of programs are out there. For us, it’s about making our mission of access real and pairing it with rigor and meaningful engagement. That commitment guided every part of how we built this program.
Evo: Is there anything you’d like to add?
RP: We’re really proud of this program because it builds on years of work in professional and executive development, as well as what we’ve developed at the Harvard Extension School. While it was sparked by a pressing need, it has long-term relevance. Sometimes it takes a shock to the system to push you to try something different. We usually take several quarters to launch a program, but in this case we moved fast and designed it to be iterative from the start.
Though it wraps before July 1, we’ll be gathering extensive feedback from participants to understand if it met their expectations. Did they learn what they needed? Was the format right? That insight will shape how we evolve the program moving forward. We want to support not only learners looking to advance but also those facing unexpected transitions. It’s about meeting people where they are—throughout their careers and lives.
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