Since the lockdowns that followed the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, many organizations have started thinking differently about the future of work and the workplace. One area where this was clearly felt is in employee learning and development.
More than ever before, organizations are more willing to embrace and tap into the huge potential for creating a learning organization by taking advantage of eLearning. Many argue that in a few years, eLearning will completely transform the way that individuals and organizations approach learning.
In fact, eLearning is now seen as a viable threat to the entire industry of tertiary education, and universities are scrambling to build capabilities in online programs that are increasingly attractive to learners.
Juxtapose that with the growing trend of “skills trumping certificates” that is sweeping the developed world, and you will certainly appreciate the poser of the eLearning advantage.
In the early days, most people thought of eLearning as an appendage to traditional classroom programs – something on the side to snack on after you devour the meal of a “proper classroom program”. That thinking is reversing now for a variety of reasons, and rightfully so, we may say.
Firstly, self-paced learning represents the epitome of a learning organization. Pushing and pulling employees to attend one training program or the other is a sign of an organization that lacks a learning culture.
Employees who are driven by the “pedagogy of the determined” as made popular by Prof Pat Utomi of the Lagos Business School in Nigeria are more likely to innovate and add value to organization. Such employees do not wait to be sponsored for a corporate training – rather they look for learning and most times find it on Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) platforms.
Besides the culture transformation that eLearning creates, it is also much more scalable, affordable, and impactful. Think about the possibilities for global organizations – with employees working from multiple locations across the globe – remotely, in their offices or in hybrid situations, sharing and learning from each other via the various tools and platforms of eLearning that are available.
While the MOOCs are valuable and have led the transformation in this area, we have found that organizations that really want to create a culture of learning and innovation need to build and deploy their own eLearning programs in the same way that Corporate Universities emerged in the late 1990s and early 200)s to incubate learning and use it as a competitive weapon.
Does Your Company have an in-house Learning Management System?
- YES
- NO
The new wave of competition that we see in the talent space, will be the competition for knowledge and learning that will be facilitated by forward-thinking organizations making investments in eLearning infrastructure, and contextually relevant content to drive the culture of learning and innovation that will give organizations a true competitive advantage.
Learning Impact NG’s People Technology Division is leading this charge on the African continent and in the Caribbean and is available to support your organization with affordable, afro-centric, and highly customizable eLearning platforms, content and tools to drive the pedagogy of the determined and the shift from “certificates to skills” that will make the difference in your organizations.
Please do not hesitate to contact our eLearning Consultants on +234 818 195 6161 (Nigeria) and + 1 (868) 737 5030 (Trinidad & Tobago) to explore how our unique eLearning Solutions can de be deployed to transform your organization and your future.
By Omagbitse Barrow
