As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to disrupt our economies in unprecedented ways globally, businesses across all verticals are adapting to the new normal through Digital Transformation (DT/DX). In June 2020, WEF’s (World Economic Forum) proposal “The Great Reset” included the fourth industrial revolution (Industry 4.0) as a strategic intelligence in the solution aimed at rebuilding the economy sustainably post-pandemic. While the companies are leveraging on rapid advancements in technology in the areas of Open-source Software, Cloud and Edge Computing, IoT, Big Data Analytics, AI/ML, RPA, Quantum Computing, and more, the need to continuously upskill or re-skill the corporate IT workforce, as well as the individual learner, is now relevant ever more so. In fact, according to a recent Forbes report on barriers to digital transformation, lack of resources (technical expertise) is cited as one of the key barriers. On the contrary, in a pandemic situation like this, HR practitioners and Learning & Development (L&D) teams are riddled with the puzzle of what the ideal training delivery method should be to address the ever-widening tech skill gaps?
This blog is a short account of how Instructor-Led Training is best for the current situation. But before we jump in, let us have a quick look at the available stats that summarize the opportunities and threats.
Some Quick Stats
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The global digital transformation market size is expected to grow from USD 469.8 billion in 2020 to USD 1009.8 billion by 2025, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 16.5% during the forecast period. (Source: M&M report )
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As new technology adoptions increase, 50% of all employees will need to be re-skilled by 2025. By 2025, 85 million jobs may be lost due to automation but 97 million new jobs may emerge that are more adapted to the new division of labour between humans, machines, and algorithms. (Source: Future of Jobs Report)
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By 2025, 5.7 billion (5 times increase) digital skill trainings will be required to gain new digital skills in the APAC region only. (Source: AWS)
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Nearly half of organizations now have 81% or more of their employees working remotely and 41% of workers will likely continue to work remotely at least part-time after the pandemic. (Source: Gartner Report)
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In 2020, the global IT training market size stood at USD 68 billion and is expected to reach USD 97.6 billion by 2026 with 6.2% CAGR growth rate. (Source: EMR)
Traditionally, while teaching complex subjects in technology, instructor-led training had remained an industry favorite.
Advantages of Instructor-Led Training
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Real-time, face-to-face, engaging, immersive, interactive, hands-on demonstration, collaborative problem-solving and discussion, networking, higher knowledge retention.
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Instantaneous clarification and feedback from instructors for complex topics not understood.
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Instructors adapting discussions as per learner skill-level (personalized approach) and can monitor learner’s progress easily.
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Strengthens the corporate culture, employee loyalty, and commitment results in a lesser turnover.
But as reality bites, a remote, distributed, and dispersed workforce cannot be expected to attend classroom-based training at the moment. The ICT training industry has embraced digital transformation as the way forward in modernizing and optimizing and staying relevant to the market realities. Instructor-led training has transitioned into virtual instructor-led training, extending as virtual classrooms where courses can be delivered remotely by an instructor using online tools, either synchronously or asynchronously. A virtual learning platform can potentially encompass the use of interactive videos, webinars, chats, mobile learning, Gamification, LMS, MOOC, AR /VR technologies at scale enhancing the training experience. It provides analytic tools to easily track & measure the ROI in training. Online instructor-led training scores over e-learning in its effectiveness towards complex digital skilling making learning conversational instead of one-directional, cold recorded sessions.
Benefits of Virtual Instructor-Led Training
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Remotely accessible anywhere
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Caters to different learning styles (visual, auditory, and kinesthetic)
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Customizable blended learning experience
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High-performance, scalable environments
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Powerful intuitive instructor tools, LMS integrations possible
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Multistep learning capabilities
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Streamlined operations and tight cost control
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Reduced environmental impact
Thus, live instructor-led training as a solution is clearly adept in satisfying the new demands of a global IT workforce.
At EDC4IT, our live instructor-led training courses are attuned to your exact IT training needs for digital transformation. Our live courses are agile and course contents get regularly updated based on recent developments/insights.
To discuss your training needs, reach out to us.
When it comes to advantages with instructor-led training delivery methods, is there anything that we missed out here? Let’s hear your thoughts in the comment section.