Five questions about the new normal in training

• Posted 05.12.2020
• 2 Minute Read

By 2019, wise companies and organizations offered training for professional advancement to help attract and keep top talent. Phrases like talent development often replaced employee training. With unemployment now reaching record levels, however, professional development and workforce training look a lot different. As talk of a new normal abounds, we ask five questions about what comes next:

1. 1. What will the new normal look like regarding in-person training versus virtual training? From Learning Stream’s observation point, training programs are adding more virtual options without giving up on in-person offerings down the road. We expect to see a stronger blend of both in the new normal.
   2. How will depleted government funding affect workforce development programs when the newly unemployed need it most? And will grant sources such as foundations be able to fill the void? We expect to see more competition among workforce development programs for further reduced funds.
   3. Because of that reduced funding, how accessible will training opportunities be for those who are recently furloughed or laid off? According to a recent poll, three of four American workers expect to return to their old jobs when the crisis ebbs. That seems optimistic. To reduce the economic impact of large-scale unemployment, laid-off workers will need ample opportunities to sharpen their skills or seek training for new careers. A dearth of quality low-cost or free training will make that difficult.
   4. During what may be an extended downtime, will organizations take the opportunity to review and address ineffective aspects of their training programs? If they do, training may look a lot different—and better—in the new normal.
   5. How quickly and easily will programs and their audiences adapt to virtual training? This may be the easiest question to answer. From Learning Stream’s perspective, registration management for virtual training works nearly the same as it does for its in-person counterpart. Instead of a physical address, the location becomes a login link and password. Funneling registration data to a learning management platform is also an easy transition.

Learning Stream saw that many of our customers in the training arena did not wait long to provide more virtual training in place of face-to-face opportunities. There were hiccups here and there, especially for trainees who were new to virtual meetings. But it shows how training programs–and the humans they comprise–can adapt quickly.

We would love to hear what your expectations are for your training program.