Because of my work in online education, my students asked me about my thoughts regarding training trends and continuous learning for this year. This is what I shared with them:
- People prefer training in small pieces they can fit into already full lives and over committed calendars. Restrictions on time and travel mean they are more likely to participate in short trainings like a breakfast meeting, or half day workshop, than they are to travel to a multi-day conference.
- Short training courses that lead to larger certifications that are supported within an individual’s occupation and industry will continue to be popular. However, while tests and certificates may be important to associations and human resource departments, they must also be directly applicable to the individual to encourage them to complete the work.
- Training offered by a company as an “incentive” or “perk” will begin to disappear. Employers will only support require training that is directly relevant in their workplace.
- Trainers continue to sell training that is known as self-directed, where no instructor is made available, but this will still not be as widely accepted as supported learning and live, interactive training. Students still want access to an instructor, and other participants, through forums, message boards, and web conferencing. They also want instant responses to quizzes and assessments.
- Staged learning will continue to be popular for attracting new students to training, where high-value introductory sessions (including no cost or low-fee webinars and web conferencing) are offered along with a chance to purchase higher priced, more intensive training.
- Trainers who provide competency-based training will help companies to overcome labor shortages, which will get more severe in the next decade.
- Gamification will become more popular, even though it is largely misunderstood at present. Gamification of training is the integration of game mechanics (elements of chance, accumulation of points, following rules) to increase participation. It is not the same thing as using online games, virtual reality, eLearning, or blended learning, though they can all be part of the same training path.
- Individualized learning plans will not just belong in schools. Companies will implement training and development pathways for employees to meet their future staffing needs.
- Learners will provide social proof of valuable learning, spreading good news to their friends, but they will be even more vocal (and bitter) about poor-quality training. For example, Albert Mehrabian is often misquoted as saying that seven per cent of communication is non-verbal, but that was not what he said, nor what his research showed, and yet trainers continue to teach that information as if it is gospel.
- There is no doubt that people want to learn, and they want to succeed. It’s essential that they have access to the training they need, and companies who see this and commit to intentionally supported learning will reap the benefits of a strong return on investment and successful trainees.
Mathew Knowles has often been referred to as one of the most influential entrepreneurs of our generation in the music and entertainment industry. He was responsible for nurturing and building one of the most successful music groups of all time, Destiny’s Child, and the career of his megastar daughter Beyonce. A professor at Texas Southern University, Knowles has also presented master classes at Berkelee College of Music, Fisk University, the University of Southern California, and Rice University. His passion is to educate and motivate in the areas of entrepreneurship and entertainment, and to that end, he recently launched The Knowles Institute https://knowlesinstitute.com.
by Dr. Mathew Knowles from Velsoft
