Learning in the digital era

Whether you joined the workforce when the first computer technology appeared or when your smartphone was part of everyday life, the digital era has made a huge impact on our working world today.

Over the years, we’ve supported our clients to deliver skills programmes that support transformations in digital, cloud adoption, cyber security and more. Throughout these programmes we’ve noticed a huge shift in both the culture of learners and the tools for delivering training but most significantly, we’ve identified patterns in recurring principles of what creates true success for the programmes we are helping to deliver.

So-Media Training Coordinator Dayana Simeonova, has recently been part of a large cloud transformation programme:

“We’re currently working on a global cloud transformation programme for a major airline. We’ve mapped out the core capabilities needed for each of the organisation's key roles and developed a learning programme in association with Amazon Web Services, to offer a unique, tailored programme that takes users from zero knowledge of the cloud to fully certified practitioners. This way of working has transformed the way in which we learn, it’s more efficient for the teams we work with which allows for faster adoption and progress in getting certified.”

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What have we learned from working across organisations skills programmes?

Here is a breakdown of our key take outs:

Build it on data

Fundamental to building the right programme is understanding and evidencing the needs of the audiences and continually track it. We always recommend starting with a learner needs analysis - understand what your audiences already know and map out where you need them to get to. Don’t oversell or mis-sell programmes to them that they won’t benefit or understand.

Offer a variety of channels

A modern learning culture should enable users to learn in their own way and at their own pace. Wherever possible offer audiences resources that range from digital to in person training and from byte size to intensive programmes.

Build Communities

For all of the capabilities we’re looking at building for our clients we believe it is fundamental to create an open channel for the sharing of experiences, challenges and solutions so that throughout the learners journey they are clear on where to go to share their thoughts. A strong community of best practise will add longevity to your new skills and ensure they stick beyond the lifespan of a training programme.

Be consistent

You might want to dictate the pace of which your learners develop but that is almost impossible - accept it. From staff attrition rates to the individual pace of a learner there can be many reasons as to why you will always need to address foundation, intermediate and advanced skills. Be sure to support and signpost your learners frequently on where to go to access resources at each level

Make it practical

There’s been a definite shift in how we consume knowledge whether it’s traditional classroom based training or on-demand videos from youtube but what we do know is that unless you make it practical to your learners you will never overcome that final hurdle to true understanding. So although buzzwords like Hackathons or Immersions can be off putting they are imperative to enabling staff with the opportunity to apply their training in a safe environment.

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