Learning in the future - summary of the episode

In the consulting industry, further development and education are key factors – as clients require the best possible solutions tailored specifically to their needs. Therefore, consultants always have to be up-to-date on new requirements and trends in the market. In times of rapid change, it is essential to acquire knowledge just as rapidly and to gain expertise. As a result of the coronavirus pandemic, the continuing education programs offered by companies have become increasingly digital. So the question arises: how will training activities develop with regard to digitalization? Will traditional workshops still be held? Or will we only need software that provides an individually tailored learning experience? 

Wiebke – former staff development manager at zeb – explains that continuing education and learning at our company take place in three ways: 70% through project work, 20% through exchange of experience within and outside the project group, and another 10% through workshops. Against the backdrop of increasing digitalization, zeb has established e-learning programs in addition to “traditional” workshops in recent years. This effort has made it possible to ensure the provision of high-quality training – even at the start of the pandemic.
Marius Vennemann, co-founder of the digital learning platform edyoucated, states that digital learning platforms offer a major advantage: unlike workshops, they can be tailored to each individual. This not only involves questions of content, but also the way of conveying information, e.g. the option to choose from texts, videos or exercises. The goal is to pick up each person at their individual starting point and to work together to determine a target. Aside from undergoing a straightforward skills assessment, each person also needs to be able to give a qualified self-assessment about the topic.

In the context of increased flexibility and individualization, the term “learning nuggets” has become popular. Short, repeated learning units – that can be accessed at any time – are supposed to increase the efficiency of the training program. But it remains unclear how useful such “learning nuggets” are for complex topics that cannot be learned quickly. The reason for this is that more extensive topics, for example machine learning, cannot be taught in 10-minute training sessions. However, Wiebke and Marius confirm that the topic of flexibility is gaining importance in continuing education. It is crucial that employees can integrate the training program into their everyday life and organize their own further training in a flexible way.

But what does this mean for the future? Both agree that the relevance of continuing education, especially digital formats, will grow. But this does not make face-to-face training programs and workshops superfluous.

Direct contact and networking at face-to-face events offer a number of advantages. When it comes to learning soft skills, for example, methods such as role-playing currently cannot be matched by any digital format.