Challenges to the learning process: Views from a corporate trainer

As a corporate trainer handling over a dozen trainees through the year, it becomes clear very early on the many challenges for overall academic excellence. I can list a few of these off the top of my mind:

1. Motivation
2. Time Constraints
3. Variance in individual capabilities
4. Variation in learning styles

Motivation Is Most Critical: Motivation, or the lack thereof, is a perpetual challenge. Needless to say, motivation ranks above all in how well you can shape a learner. It is much much more important than even intelligence or educational background. To somehow inspire or motivate a trainee is a hard task without guaranteed results. However, the better the learning environment and the more motivated the peers are, the more motivated an individual can get. Nurturing healthy learning environments is relatively easy with maintaining good processes and resources.

Time Management is often a major additional constraint/ challenge. Many a time, organisations are tempted to churn out course after course. Graduates are “released“ into the market like any other mass produced good. This approach cannot work, as specialized services are rare and invaluable that get diluted with output.

There is also limited time that a trainer can spend each day with each trainee, limiting how much individual attention and mentorship can be provided.

Individual Capabilities And Backgrounds Vary Widely: One of the initial realizations in this role is the significant gap in individual capabilities. Each trainee is very different in how fast they can learn, some are fast learners, some are slow. Some are late bloomers who quickly take off after an initial slow lull. Some come from privileged backgrounds which mean they are more confident, have better interpersonal skills, went to a better college, have personal connections that they can leverage for learning and career opportunities, and can take higher risks. Some are not so privileged. Special care has to be taken to balance these factors and give everyone an equitable opportunity for progress.

Diverse Learning Styles: One often neglected factor is learning styles. Some like methodical and pedantic explanations of concepts, some like simpler and colloquial language. Some thrive in the field under practical application, some are better at theory and fare better in the classrooms.

Handling all of these challenges and overcoming them to maximize trainee learning is something that comes only with experience/ experimentation. There are always trade-offs, and we have to be satisfied with taking away learnings for the future from the errors of our past. Pursuit of excellence has to be our #1 Mantra.