Closing the Skills Gap: How to Make Learning Work

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Organizations are stepping up their investment in training. According to new figures from Bersin & Associates, budgets for learning development rose to $800 per learner in 2011, a 9.5 percent increase on 2010, as businesses in the United States looked to fill their skills gap. 

While spending on training may slowly be returning to pre-recession levels, the methods being used certainly are not.

Along with the increased spend is coming a new drive for efficiency, a focus on targeting training where it is needed and an understanding that money spent on box ticking exercises, is quite simply money wasted.  

Josh Bersin, chief executive officer and president, Bersin & Associates, explained: "Organizations are turning away from formal classroom training – and even traditional e-learning programs – to deliver bite-sized learning on a continuous basis. 

"In fact, our research shows that today, the demand is for 'just the learning you need, just in time'." 

Creating The Training You Need With The Tools Available 

Technology is now considered a vital component for training, both within and outside of the workplace. 

However, with each company having different training needs, a one-size-fits-all approach simply will not do the job. Service providers are now offering a greater level of versatility with their learning management systems (LMS), leaving fewer clients having to reconfigure their system.

In other words, companies are now dictating how they wish to use this LMS, rather than the other way round. 

Scott Keit, training systems manager for Motorola Solutions, which deployed the latest LMS from Meridian, explained: "We tested the new reporting features, and they did let us shape the Meridian LMS to our business requirements. 

"We were able to collect training data that we wanted to report on and generate those reports in a format of our choosing." 

Different industries are also rapidly beginning to find where their niche lies when it comes to deploying not just LMS, but other technology such as e-learning solutions.

Research from Atlas found that in the heavily regulated oil and gas industry, 75 per cent are now using e-learning as a tool for compliance training, with 46 percent claiming an improvement in demonstrating compliance as a result. 

John Rowley, chief executive officer of Atlas, said: "Oil and gas in particular is an industry that relies on facts and empirical data.  

"With thousands of vacancies across the industry and a large number of companies struggling to recruit the skilled personnel needed to fulfill projects planned for 2012, it would appear that many are taking a closer look at e-learning as a potential solution."

Embracing New Learning Systems 

In the move away from box ticking exercises, businesses are now thinking outside the box when it comes to offering training.

Bersin & Associates research found that the amount spent on social training nearly doubled to $40,000 on average in 2011, as companies sought to unlock the hidden knowledge in their organizations.

"By allowing users to actively interact and share knowledge, organizations are both empowering users to teach one another and are actively encouraging conversations that organically foster creativity and problem solving," Bersin explained. 

Learning and development teams are now looking beyond traditional training providers for their needs to managers and subject experts, while the competencies needed by the team are also changing. 

These changes are bringing with them a greater need for management, another way in which companies can make their LMS systems work for them. 

Karen O'Leonard, director of research methods & analytics and principal analyst at benchmarking, Bersin & Associates, explained: "Tracking and analyzing data can spotlight issues with cost structures and utilization, as well as assess the value and impact of training on the business. This analysis is critical to making sound investment decisions."

It is clear from the increased investment that companies understand the need for training, although they must ensure this is passed on to workers. It is also clear that in the quest for efficiency and the skills needed to allow growth, businesses are increasingly unwilling to compromise and are looking for the solutions that can adapt to them, not the other way around.   

Contributor:   From the HRIQ Editorial Desk

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