In today’s workforce, employees are one of your most valuable assets. Each of your team members was hired for their current skills and the potential to meet the company’s evolving needs. In the business world, nothing stands still. Employees require learning and development to realize their potential and progress in individual career paths, while the company must constantly explore new technology and methods to remain competitive.
Employee learning and development trends are a vital part of business strategy in 2023, both to keep top talent and help the company evolve. Read on as PA CareerLink® Delaware County highlights some of the employee learning and development trends for 2023.
What is Learning and Development, & Why is it Important?
Learning and development mean effectively training your employees while fulfilling roles on your team. Ongoing training is essential for both sides of the equation. 93% of employees will stay loyal to a company that invests in their career development. At the same time, employers benefit profoundly from internal hiring empowered by developing the skills you need from an existing workforce.
Hiring is considerably more costly than training in the current job market. Learning and development cultivate internal top talent and employee retention and tailor team performance to your company’s needs. Learning and development can take the form of:
- On-the-job training
- Workshops and training courses
- Online training resources
- Mentorship and growth opportunities
- Lateral experience
- Employer-hosted or subsidized classes
Trends in Learning and Development
The top learning and development trends of 2023 are more innovative than you might expect. The training industry has come a long way from instructional videos and worksheets. You can implement truly integrated and innovative ways to improve the skills of your team members and help each person build their career inside your company.
Microlearning
Microlearning is when learning opportunities are broken into small portions and available at the most relevant moments. Any time employees use a new system or want a quick refresher, they can access a microlearning session that can take a few seconds to a few minutes to increase their skill. How to use equipment, a workstation, or internal software can all be broken down into microlearning.
Microlearning can be stored in a learning center but works best with quick links employees can access on the job when a refresher is most helpful. A short quiz can also enhance the value of microlearning sessions.
Data-Driven Learning
Learning management systems (LMSs) can now analyze learner patterns and job demands, then predict what they need next. Data-driven learning can suggest lessons and even tailor content to a user’s learning style to optimize personal learning paths. For example, data-driven learning might predict that an employee in product development will need to learn engineering basics after studying design elements or help them prioritize audio learning over visual learning due to how they learn best.
Upskilling and Reskilling
Upskilling and reskilling are at the heart of today’s learning and development trends. As new employees are becoming more challenging to acquire, employees are looking inward to unlock the potential of their current teams to meet developing skill needs. Upskilling means helping your team build their career progress by upgrading their training and credentials along a linear path.
Reskilling is helping your employees update outdated skills or make a lateral move to fill new roles that suit their talents, though it may redirect original career tracking.
Learning on Demand
On-demand learning is when learning is available to employees on their time rather than through classes or workshops. Online learning platforms make it possible for employees to pursue learning both at work and at home whenever they have time. Employees can learn at their own pace, flying through material they easily understand or taking as many practice hours as they need to absorb new information.
User-Generated Content
User-generated training turns internal talent into a regenerating asset. This trend encourages current experts to create training material. User-generated content is often more personable, trusted, and directly relevant to your company. It’s a way to spread the benefits of mentorship and reinvest in your team experts, who often feel honored when asked to share their insights through assembled lessons, hosted webinars, or recorded videos, especially when accompanied by a reward for contributing.
Find & Keep Qualified Employees in Delaware County
Employee learning and development are essential parts of a good employer strategy to grow and thrive in a fast-evolving business environment. PA CareerLink® Delaware County can help you build on the skills and capabilities of your current team through work-based training programs.
Register today to unlock the potential of your workforce and internal hiring opportunities.
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