In recent years, companies had already adopted e-learning training as a new avenue to train and develop the skills of their employees. This type of training, although popular, was intended as a complementary solution to in-person training.
Many people saw e-learning as a practical and effective solution, while some tended to see it as a second-level format. However, this is not the case since the quality criterias are sometimes higher in e-learning than in-person. It is better to have a quality distance training than lower quality face-to-face training.
And then there was 2020...
The pandemic will have forced us all to rethink how we train our employees. Confinement, partial unemployment of several employees and social distance. Both e-learning and distance training (virtual classes) have become a logical and effective solution to training needs all over the world.
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The year 2020 will have forced companies and their employees to make extensive use of remote collaboration tools, such as Microsoft Teams and Zoom. The world of education has also had to adapt by organizing distance training and holding virtual classes for students.
Like telecommuting, the use of e-learning and distance learning is a must for the majority of companies, most of which have adapted quite easily to these technologies and this current reality.
A Radical Transformation of Training Needs
Already, even if traditional training remains a necessary solution in some specific cases, it is to be expected that e-learning and distance learning will continue to take an increasingly important place in the training needs of companies, even when the current pandemic is behind us.
Several factors explain this transformation and enthusiasm for E-Learning courses:
- Budgetary, logistical and health & security factors will continue to influence the choice of e-learning and distance learning. It is expected that the pandemic will be followed by a global economic crisis, resulting in extraordinary public spending to combat COVID-19. Businesses will therefore look for quality solutions while minimizing costs.
- The designers of e-learning training have significantly increased the quality of training, both for the pedagogical aspect and for the validation of achievements through activities, animations, quiz questions and exams to measure comprehension.
- Traditional trainers have also adapted to distance learning technologies and can now provide workers with their expertise, while minimizing costs for the company that hires them.
- Workers may be reluctant in having to travel to train, while they, their children and friends will have experienced very interesting distance learning experiences in 2020 and 2021.
- In-person training will have to be justified more than ever. The learning experience it will create will have to be distinctive.
- Several countries will continue to face a declining workforce, which will require all businesses to opt for optimal training solutions to develop the skills of their employees.
- It is now easier to manage the training records of these employees, thanks to online platforms such as Cognibox OTP.
Thinking Ahead. How You Can Contribute
The question is not when, for how long, or how e-learning and distance learning will be the preferred mediums for training your employees, but your ability to adapt to this reality and complement this training offer by accompanying your employees with coaching and guidance, as you have always done. In addition, you have a crucial role to play in establishing e-learning training content that is appropriate and adapted to your reality. Knowledge of your corporate field makes you the best person to identify training products that meet your needs. Your role as a content expert allows you to actively participate in the design of specific training courses that are adapted to your reality.
This unavoidable shift in the world of training has been accelerated by the extraordinary events of the last year but will have challenged all players to offer solutions of great quality that are better adapted to the realities of the corporate world for years to come.
