By Costi Karayannis, Managing Director at Capita Education & Learning
There has, quite simply, never been a greater need for continued learning and development. With productivity in the UK lagging behind that of major European counterparts1 and often highlighted as an economic weakness, organisations have a clear business case to provide a learning environment that will not only help their business grow, but meet the evolving requirements of the workforce at large.
While many recognise the need for change, putting that into practice has proved harder to achieve. Recent events, however, have accelerated change. Whilst the pandemic has imposed many devastating effects on businesses, it has had some surprisingly positive impacts on learning and development. It has forced employers to use new strategies to upskill their staff to adapt to new ways of working. Technology has become an integral part of this change and has shown the speed with which businesses can adapt.
But this reactive approach will only go so far. The world of work is set for an even more seismic shift in years to come, requiring new skills from staff and therefore new learning and development strategies from employers. When the future of technology – characterised by the physical and virtual worlds merging more than ever before – integrates more fully into supply chains, will employees have the relevant skills necessary to adapt and thrive, rather than simply survive? Will there be the necessary shift in upskilling to focus on data, automation and AI? Just as importantly, are organisations and leaders going to meet this challenge head on with innovative, tech-driven strategies?
Our comprehensive study sought to address these questions, discovering three significant findings:
1OECD, 2021, www.commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/sn02791
