How Corporate Training is Changing in 2020

Do you ever feel that time moves so quickly you simply can’t keep up? This will likely be the case in 2020 as the business world rapidly evolves to meet changing expectations and demands. As the world ushers in a new decade full of potential and opportunities for exciting growth, the business world is working diligently to anticipate ways in which companies will need to adapt. For example, artificial intelligence is playing a big role in how things change and grow. Corporate training needs to reflect this trend. Help your company gain a competitive edge by becoming aware of how the most recent trends will affect you and your employees.

A Changing Corporate World

Corporate training can include several things: upskilling, business etiquette training, board of directors training, learning and development, certification trainings, etc. There are several major trends predicted to affect the world of professional development in 2020. These trends have gained momentum as technology plays a bigger and bigger role in personalized and ongoing professional development. Overall, the corporate training market is projected to grow by almost $52 billion between 2020-2024.

One of the biggest takeaways of the business training trends of 2020 is that the line between work and education continues to be blurred while lifelong learning gains increased traction in top industries. Three major trends are anticipated this year:

• Increased corporate investment in learning and development – Technological changes make many jobs seem increasingly obsolete. However, this is not necessarily the case—as long as employees receive the appropriate upskill training. When companies make their workforce a priority, they improve overall satisfaction. Ways that they can do this include larger or more strategic investments in learning opportunities and long-term learning processes
• Online learning to match marketplace credential requirements – Online programs that anticipate industry needs and teach transferable skills will be the most successful. Access to gaining new credentials online will be useful to employees as they navigate an ever-increasing income/education disparity
• Increased emphasis on lifelong learning – Companies are beginning to put people over analytics, realizing that their teams are what truly drive the successful achievement of their business goals.
• Learning and development programs are starting to incorporate technical skills training with soft skills training

Why Corporate Skills Need to be Reevaluated

In 2017, leadership strategy specialist Josh Bersin predicted that top companies would be moving away from outdated corporate LMS (Leadership Management Systems) to favor digital learning tools. Then, in 2019, leadership strategy specialist Dan Pontefract followed up by reporting that the best and most cost-effective corporate training courses include long-term training, follow-up and reinforcement of ideas. We can analyze how corporate training programs have trended and use this information to anticipate the best solutions for 2020.

Recent attitudes in corporate employee training have shifted away from C-Suite and executive leadership in favor of upskilling employees of all levels. Training is being treated as an investment as more employees reveal that they are more likely to stay with their company if their employers play an active role in their learning and development. A 2019 study revealed that 94 percent of employees are willing to stay at their current company when leaders invest in comprehensive skill development programs.

One noticeable trend from recent years is that companies do not seem to be prioritizing the reskill of employees like they should be. Instead, they become distracted by the ever-growing list of new demands as a result of a rapidly changing technological workforce. 86 percent of employers admitted that they need to improve learning and development but less than half felt ready to address it with comprehensive training and certification programs. While employers fail to make the necessary reskills and changes in employee training, employees start to imagine future career opportunities outside of their current company. 70 percent of employees who left a job said they did so because of a lack of career development.

eLearning Offers Solutions

As workplace demands change, organizations innovate their learning and development programs to match trends in top industries. Since tech industries are booming and paving the way to success through necessary changes and adaptations, they are a good example to model your own organizational changes after. One such shining example is the use of eLearning in corporate training programs. The global eLearning market is projected to reach a value of $331 billion by the year 2025.

Here are some of the ways in which eLearning changes the ways employees stay engaged with their organizations:

• It attracts top talent – talented and highly skilled individuals are drawn to organizations and companies that are known for investing in high-quality employee training
• Increased talent retention – When employees feel challenged and valued, they are more likely to stay in their current position
• Real-world skills are valuable and make your organization competitive – when corporate learning opportunities involve upskilling employees with real-world technical skills, this adds to the theoretical knowledge they gained from their degrees, coursework, certifications, etc. Our jobs currently require more technological skills than ever before, so organizations that invest in providing up-to-date training on technological and computer skills tends to foster a competitive edge with highly skilled groups of employees

In addition to these factors, eLearning also offers measurable benefits:

• Learning retention rates increase anywhere from 25 to 60 percent depending on the programs and the individuals involved
• Data can be traced across multiple platforms, measuring how employees perform and engage with materials such as videos, online courses, simulations, articles, etc.
• Corporate learning strategies that keep up with top trends, such as eLearning, see higher return on investment (ROI)

Next Steps

As the business world continues to evolve at a rapid pace, it will be necessary to continue to evaluate how corporate training programs are improving the workforce. Are employees feeling satisfied and happy in their roles? If not, how can we fix this to find solutions that increase the satisfaction of our great assets? KnowledgeCity has a large library of employee training courses that can start you off on the right foot. The Learning Library can help you explore dozens of business courses.