TECHNOLOGY REVOLUTION IN TRAINING

Technology will sooner or later take over traditional methods of conducting training.  Still a lot of big corporate and PSUs use traditional method of Instructor Led Training model (ILT)    and use it for skill enhancements or competency   development.  But with tech advancement and revolution in Internet space and mobile Apps the landscape of training is surely changing.

Internet based learning or E-learning is already prevalent were physical presence of the trainer is not required. It can be in the in the form of pre recorded videos from world class Subject matter experts        (SME). The learner can learn it at his own pace and convenient time.  It is already being used by corporates  were  they see value in this proposition since It is very cost effective , it saves the trainer cost and infrastructure cost. It saves cost on employee engagements also because you do not have to take employees out of their regular work specifically for training. There is a limitation to this format since query during training cannot be resolved since these are pre-recorded videos. One has to get in touch with SME in case of query offline.

Interactive web based training were the trainer is present at a central point and all classrooms are digitally connected like video conferencing and the learner can view the trainer and clarify his query real-time. It is like a face to face classroom discussion. There are immense benefits to this format since training can be delivered faster and in a shorter period of time to geographically dispersed employees   . Practice, feedback, objectives and assessment all can be done real-time.  Paperwork related to training management can be eliminated. It is also very prevalent method now and saves cost on employee engagements for training. The limitation which I see in this space is lack of motivation among employees to learn online, lack of management buy in, lack of high quality content. But all these limitations are minimized now since a lot of positive traction is happening in this space now.

CBT (Computer Based Training) were digital multimedia content is created and shared with the learner. The learner can view the content at his own pace and time. The limitation to this format is same as pre-recorded videos were query cannot be resolved real-time. However if proper hyperlinks of SMEs or trainers or other learners are inserted in multimedia content the  limitation of query resolution is minimized.

Now with more advancements happening in this space, Virtual reality or computer based technology   that provides trainees with three dimensional learning experiences is also happening, allowing users to experience presence. Mobility tech is also on the rise so lots of Apps are being developed now for training. The end user experience is limitless; one can view, learn, revise and also can connect with SME real-time.  It’s just learning anytime kind of environment in this space.

But whatever may be the platform for training, training content and SME is the deciding factor to get repeated business in this space.