With ‘disruption’ becoming the buzz word of 2021, the future of enterprise learning has started to look different than what was anticipated by human resource managers before. Previously, enterprise learning was all about on the job training and continuous skill development. However, this has changed now.
In late 2019, a global L&D market report by Beroe Inc. estimated the Learning and Development industry to touch approximately USD 446.1 Billion by 2020. In 2021, the growth expected to jump further.
The expectations towards job training’ going in for a significant shift – what does the future of enterprise learning look like in this ‘New Normal’..?
Trends that will govern the future of enterprise learning:
1. Reliance on Capability Over Skill
Before the pandemic, having a predefined skill set was everything. Every job had a list of skills required, and candidates were expected to possess those skills to be accepted for that position. However, once the lockdown struck, there was a wave of change and uneasiness in the air.
This was when test a person’s capability to handle pressure, adapt and react analytically. These are qualitative skills that employers always expected candidates to possess; however, they were not considered a ‘qualification’ over and above their quantitative skills.
Thus, from now onwards, this is the first thing that will change in enterprise learning. In the future of enterprise learning, employers will like to focus more on building their workforce’s capability and personality traits than polishing a skill set that they already possess.
A simple example here:
When the world went digital and work from home became the norm, the millennial generation was adept at using digital tools to get their work done, rather than the older, more experienced and skilled generation.
Even though experienced and established professionals had all the requisite skills to do a job, they were termed redundant in the ‘New Normal’ due to their inability to navigate their way through a remote workspace effortlessly.
2. Infrastructure and Technology
The normal mode of enterprise learning in most organizations is the corporate training way. New joiners and others at regular intervals imparted training in the traditional sage and student method. It is a thing of the past now.
Naturally, with virtual workspaces coming into the picture, conventional training models have also been deemed redundant. Nonetheless, it is not only about moving training to a virtual platform that will do its job. The future of enterprise learning also involves a significant transformation in the infrastructure used for imparting these training.
As per a report by Research and Markets (one of the worlds leading research store) about the global LMS(Learning Management Systems) market size are expected to grow from USD 13.4 billion in 2020 to USD 25.7 billion by 2025, with a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 14.0%, considering this ample amount of investment organizations are working on ensuring platforms are as user-friendly, interactive, attractive, and engaging as possible.
Additionally, ensuring employee attendance to a training program is also tricky in a virtual set up. Hence, making an LMS platform that appeals to employees and maximizes outcome value for their time spent is one of the parameters that will significantly define this practice’s success in the future.
3. Content
Organizations that have been masquerading L&D programs can sometimes be confused with under the garb of soft skills training and other skills training for a long time now. Some organizations have also made it mandatory for employees to attend these training sessions. Nevertheless, nowadays, this strategy will no longer work for corporations.
Another change that the future of enterprise learning focuses on achieving tangible results through quality content; employees no longer feel the need to expend their time in activities that do not provide them value or substantial returns. Hence, the old format of training will now have to replace with more quality content, Such as case studies, practical projects and industry expertise to offer – in a way that an employee can take something qualitative and quantitative back.
Training and enterprise learning that will impart the same run of the mill concepts repackaged into a new format will no longer work in the future.
4. Flexibility
Lastly, the future of enterprise learning will also involve a lot of flexibility, specially engineered to suit the ‘desk less’ workforce’s needs. Hence, learning and development programs will now be self-paced, on-demand, and ones that you can practically learn during your work. Most enterprise learning solutions will transform to learning on the go, without the trainee having to earmark a specific time slot to attend the training, thus, making the experience more flexible and adaptable.
Conclusion
2020 saw the inception of an all-new workplace for each of us, which also brought about a catalytic change in the very foundation of enterprise learning. Most experts believe that the trends mentioned above are going to govern this subject for a while. However, the business environment is changing dynamically. It is important to keeping pace with trends and upskilling continuously with the right learning partner. Learn more about how upGrad corporate training and development helps in upskilling.
