A Relevant (if fabricated) Case-Study in Training the Climate Workforce

Here is a story about a Learning Team. They are trying to create a world-class training program for a workforce that doesn't exist (at scale) yet.

The following case study is entirely fiction.

Yet, I bet it might sound so relatable to some of you that you might think your name (or the names of people you know) could easily replace the ones we made-up below.

As you read it, here is a question to wrestle with:

What would you do, if you were any of these characters?

The curtain opens on a dimly lit stage. Sasha steps forward into a glaring spotlight.

"In the busy-busy renewable energy sector, SolarFuture Inc., an organization I work for, is dedicated to advancing the electrification of communities around the world. We stand on the brink of a transformative opportunity. With the climate crisis urging rapid action and the Inflation Reduction Act funneling unprecedented resources into green jobs, our mission has never been more critical. However, with opportunity comes challenge, especially for my dedicated learning team. I am Sasha, and I'm the Head of Learning and Development."

Vision: Clarity & Alignment

Sasha's vision is ambitious yet clear: to train thousands on the ins and outs of electrification, equipping a workforce ready to tackle the climate crisis head-on. Yet, translating this vision into actionable, scalable learning objectives proves daunting. The team struggles to distill the enormity of their goal into digestible, achievable steps that align with the broader organizational aims. They even argue at times about what they should look like a year from now...

Insights: Data Paralyzation

Data should inform every decision, but SolarFuture's Learning Team hits a snag. Marcus, the Data Analyst, finds himself swimming in feedback from past courses, attendance numbers, and completion rates with no clear strategy on how to leverage these insights. Moreover, the data is coming from 3 different systems. They are not even in the same format. They know there's a treasure trove of valuable information within their reach, potentially guiding them to refine their courses, but connecting the dots between data and action remains elusive.

Technology: Dis-Integration

Technology should be SolarFuture's ally, especially given their hopes to create asynchronous courses to scale their training efforts. However, the current tech stack, chosen hastily during a period of rapid growth, now feels mismatched to their needs. Sarah, the System Admin, frequently juggles between platforms to provide a seamless learning experience, facing integration headaches and user experience issues that deter learners.

People: How Many Hats is Too Many?

The Learning Team is passionate and skilled but stretched thin across multiple projects. John, a Senior Instructional Designer, and his colleagues often find themselves assigned to multiple roles, diluting their focus. The lack of specialized roles means creativity suffers, and burnout looms large, threatening the quality of course design and delivery.

Playbook: We Just Don't Have Time For That!

Without a unified playbook, the team's approach to creating and deploying learning content varies wildly. This inconsistency leads to duplicated efforts and wasted resources, as highlighted by Anita, a Project Manager, who spends an inordinate amount of time reconciling different methodologies adopted by her team members.

Learning: Doing What We've Always Done

Central to their mission is the delivery of high-quality, impactful learning on electrification. However, without a foundation in the learning sciences or a repository of evidence-based practices, the team relies heavily on "tried and true" methods. This approach risks becoming outdated, especially as the field of electrification evolves rapidly. The need for a structured, research-backed curriculum is evident, but the path to achieving it is cluttered with obstacles.

The Cumulative Effect

As SolarFuture Inc. stands at the intersection of opportunity and challenge, the Learning Team feels the weight of their responsibility. Training a workforce capable of driving the electrification forward is no small feat, and the hurdles they face in vision alignment, leveraging insights, utilizing technology effectively, managing their people, streamlining processes, and ensuring the quality of learning content are interlinked.

Each domain presents its own set of problems, yet they all converge on a singular truth: without addressing these foundational issues, scaling their training efforts to meet the urgent demand for climate jobs remains a distant dream.

So, what would you do? Please light up the comments below!