Global Mobility Guide | Online Learning: A key resource in the evolving world of work

Converging trends of disruptive technology, shifting demographics, fluid labor markets and demands for new skills are radically reshaping the world of work. Competition for talent continues to heat up and learning and development (L&D) opportunities are high on employees’ “must-have” lists. In turn, organizations are increasingly seeing the value of investing in training. Research from Bersin by Deloitte puts the current global corporate training market at more than US$ 200 billion. With technology increasingly automating or augmenting our work, the need to develop new skills continues to grow.

Accenture and the G20 Young Entrepreneurs Alliance (G20 YEA) published a 2018 collaborative report entitled “It’s Learning. Just Not as We Know It.” Among its key findings was the potential for the G20 economies to lose up to US$ 11.5 trillion in cumulative GDP growth in the next ten years if skill-building doesn’t catch up with the rate of technological progress. It recommends a three-step approach, including: Speeding up experiential learning; shifting the focus from institutions to individuals, incentivizing them to develop a broader blend of skills; and empowering more vulnerable learners by giving them greater access to modular training. The report also recommends the use of technology “to make learning more immersive, engaging and personalized.”

While there is no “one-size-fits-all” solution for employee training, there is ample evidence to support that the use of a blended, multimedia approach is one of the most effective ways to learn and retain information. Looking more closely at how we learn, most of us can identify with the key characteristics of the modern learner, defined by Bersin/Deloitte in 2014 and still relevant today. We are:

Overwhelmed, distracted and impatient. 
Elucidat’s take on the leaner profile reports that today’s worker typically spends 33 percent of an average week in meetings, 25 percent on email, 5 percent being interrupted, and only one percent on training and development. We typically decide if content is right for us in an average of about seven seconds, so clearly learning content has to be accessible, relevant and efficient.