THE LEARNING CURVE
SELF-MOTIVATED UPSKILLING
The next phase of corporate learning lies with workers – Ruwandi Perera
Learning and development (L&D) is a necessary function in organisations today. Companies around the world spend millions on employee training and development so that they can upskill and grow.
It’s been a practice for centuries rather than an act of philanthropy – perhaps from the very first apprenticeships where skills were passed down from master to novice. Companies need their employees to keep developing because upskilled employees deliver superior performance.
Though organisations do a great job of training their employees, it’s not as easy as it once was. As AI is growing bigger and better by the day, it appears that more and more employees are taking learning and development into their own hands, because corporate training is being considered irrelevant, routine and boring.
Corporations are being called upon to boost their training arms and cultivate lifelong learning desires among their employees. Yet, like most aspects of life nowadays, this requires a considerable change; and this change must begin with how employee learning and upskilling is perceived.
For this to happen, it’s helpful to understand how we learn at various stages of our lives.
Learning is a biological need in humans because we’re programmed to learn to survive. It’s also how we adapt to changes in our external environment and ourselves, how we maintain our memory and how we function.
Babies begin to hear their mother’s voice while they are inside the womb and recognise her after birth. Human learning and brain development happen at their most effective in the first five years of life. And although brain development and the formation of neural connections, which are needed to absorb and process information, peak in early childhood, we continue to learn throughout life.
While we have to combat a biology driven slower pace of learning as adults, we can still learn, develop skills and improve ourselves. Even when we reach our twilight years and our memory power declines, we’re still able to learn.
Being aware of the evolution of learning is useful when trying to optimise adult learning. Not considering this process is the reason why some learning initiatives don’t work out in adult life, especially in a corporate setting.
When we teach children, we call it ‘pedagogy.’ This is where the teacher plays a pivotal role in sharing information and helping children form an understanding and application of knowledge. Effective teaching practices, engaging content, ongoing assessments and a supportive learning environment play important roles in pedagogy.
Teaching adult learners is called ‘andragogy.’ Since adults come to the table with a gamut of skills, experiences and knowledge, andragogy uses all these as learning resources. Practices such as active participation, incorporating problem solving techniques and using real world examples are the common methods applied.
Due to the free availability of and access to knowledge, and the changing attitudes and behaviour at work, andragogy may not be the ideal way to go about learning.
Enter ‘heutagogy.’ This is where we take andragogy to the next level and focus on an educational approach that’s based on self-determined learning.
Although this concept was pioneered in 2000, it has remained largely unexplored until recently. However, it’s gaining traction mainly because of changes in the education and corporate landscapes.
Heutagogy is where learners set their own goals, choose their learning methods and reflect on their progress. They practise lifelong learning to change with the ever-changing world.
No importance is given to the disseminators of knowledge. Celebrity trainers with renowned clients won’t be as hot, students won’t seek out particular teachers or professors to learn from, and the power dynamics of learning and teaching will cease to exist. The most important factors are knowledge, and learning platforms and skills.
Heutagogy requires people to develop skills such as critical thinking, problem solving, adaptability and self-discipline. And this is what corporate training could and should also focus on, if companies are to future proof their workforces.
Instead of formal training programmes, businesses will need to invest in shorter courses, micro credentials, online learning management systems and personalised learning pathways.
For companies, technology would be the main leveraging agent, self-directed learning should be the method and learning centric employees must be the goal. And L&D learners are best suited to develop this system.
