Training trends for 2020

As we welcome the new decade, it’s often a time to start thinking about the upcoming trends within learning and development. Training has advanced significantly over the last 10 years, and we have seen a huge shift in digital and cloud-based technology being used every day in all aspects of learning.

What we expect to see more of over the next year…

Self-directed learning

With working hours rising in recent years, people generally have less time to fit in learning and development outside of work. According to the European statistics agency, Eurostat, full-time workers in the UK work an average of 42.5 hours a week; making it near impossible for workers to fit in traditional methods of training. 2020 will be just the start of us seeing more self-led learning; a learning technique that is becoming increasingly popular. This method of training allows people to fit learning into their busy schedule, offering bite sized training sessions that can be self-paced for the learner.

The Quals Direct ePortfolio is perfect for self-directed learning. With excellent features to help learners take control of their own progression, the cloud-based ePortfolio has open and visible communication enabling assessors to mentor and identify key points of need in order to plan the next stages of training. Assessors can also track the learners progress and performance with bespoke reporting and data exportation throughout the ePortfolio, allowing them to inform the learner where they need work, thus ensuring they take ownership of their learning.

Focus on AI coaching

AI (Artificial Intelligence) has been around for a while now and in the coming years, we will see education shift the focus on incorporating more AI in terms of how learning practices are carried out.

AI has been proven to vastly improve a learner’s performance which is a priority for any learning organisation, and we have already seen that Microsoft released an AI coach late last year that integrates with PowerPoint. This feature enables both assessors and learners to give better presentations as the AI coach listens to the presentation as a rehearsal, providing feedback on pacing, word-use and also guidance if you stutter.

Along with helping students academically, AI also helps learner’s wellness. For example, students can benefit from chatbots offering them 24-hour access for academic and non-academic support. AI also aids with multiculturalism as international students have improved services that let them communicate in their preferred language.

More integration and flow

Over the next few years, we expect to see more employers/assessors taking onboard the importance of integrating learning. No longer are we restricted to formal training periods or sessions, and we are beginning to recognise the need for continuous development and training.

Having learning tools that integrate, makes the training process much simpler for all those involved including the employer, assessor and learner. However, as digital technology develops, it has expanded so much that there is simply so many tools and platforms to choose from, we are often asked ‘which one do we use?’ and ‘why should we choose Quals Direct ePortfolio over the others?’ This challenge is something we are faced with a lot and with all of the different technology on the market today, it can be a difficult one for the user.

Why Quals Direct?

• Quick and easy to set up
• Designed to work on any web enabled device
• No set up costs, recurring charges, hosting fees or annual licence charges
• User processes are designed to work with different assessment and assurances methods
• Assessment templates can be built to aid efficiency and standardisation
• And many more…

In 2020, we expect there to be a trend to consolidate tools, that provide a complete, integrated, and simplified digital working experience – similar to the seamless experiences that we can provide to our users.

To find out more about the benefits of using the Quals Direct ePortfolio solution, please get in touch.