Digital reskilling – How can it look like?

The job market is transforming at a breathtaking speed. Skill sets that are needed today are not yet available on the market. And for the most part, schools, universities and training companies are not yet able to teach new specialists the skills they will need in the future. Many companies are therefore focusing on providing their employees with targeted support in quickly acquiring new skills. For this reason, digital training is becoming increasingly important for the success of companies.

Digital learning offerings (e-learning) provide an easy way to re-skill and upskill employees. The learning units are provided either via an in-house LMS (Learning Management System), an LXP (Learning Experience Platform) or via external content platforms such as LinkedIn Learning. However, these courses predominantly use classic forms of passive knowledge transfer: they are often video lectures in which experts explain specialist topics and new content or methods, or highly guided linear learning modules that must be worked through one after the other.

Learners complete the learning units on these platforms in a passive learning setting. There is little or no active engagement with the content. Pure video consumption is stereotypical, monotonous and uniform. After completing a large number of learning units or videos, learners find it increasingly difficult to remember the content. The concrete transfer of learning to one's own everyday work is even less successful. The spatial-visual component is missing, and creativity and reflection in the team also come up short. A good e-learning solution for companies must offer more in order to meet the demands of personnel development 4.0.

Findings from teaching and learning theory prove that people can learn most effectively if 

1. content is very well curated and prepared, 
2. immersive, spatial-visual anchors are created, and 
3. an exchange can take place in co-creative reflection sessions. 

Only by applying these three elements are the best possible frameworks for effective learning provided. Video platforms are therefore not permanently suitable as a central learning offer. Smart learning must be designed interactively and individually.

Studies suggest that personalized learning options are much more effective than the classic standard formats¹. It is true that 89% of respondents said they were satisfied with their standardized training, and 86% were also able to acquire good theoretical knowledge. But when it came to applying that knowledge in the real world and making a positive impact on the business, scores dropped. Only 79% said they actually applied what they learned in their daily work, and only 73% believed the new knowledge would really help the company succeed.

Personalized learning options, on the other hand, consistently scored better - especially when it came to applying what they learned to daily business and making a real difference. So when it comes to improving people's skills in a practical way and positively impacting business success, we should personalize digital training.

Example 1:

For a compliance training course, learners could find themselves in a courthouse. An interactive exhibition on the topic of "Compliance" awaits them in the foyer. A curated collection of material consisting of technical articles, videos, employee stories, learning snacks, and interactive tasks can be discovered independently within 45 minutes using guiding questions. Learners then meet the team in the courtroom. As part of a (serious) escape game, they and their team must now try to reach the correct verdict within 15 minutes in order to be able to leave the courtroom again. For this purpose, clues and tasks are distributed in the room itself, which contribute to the solution. Once the solution has been found, the judge can be projected as an AR avatar onto the participants' desks, where he or she reads out the reasons for the verdict.