5 Effects of COVID-19 to Professional Learning and Development

Indeed, the COVID-19 pandemic has turned the business world upside down. Despite businesses’ efforts to stay afloat, the overall success of the global market remains unsure. To survive these uncertainties, companies need to learn and adapt to new techniques. Regardless of the size and industry you’re in, one of the biggest concerns you have to deal with is your people’s career, specifically their professional learning and development. 

Needless to say, the COVID-19 pandemic has greatly affected most individuals’ professional growth and education. Despite these changes, quickly adapting to new trends is still your best defense. We’ve listed down the 5 major effects of COVID-19 on professional learning and development you should know. 

Gearing Towards Online Training

Professional learning and development come in many different forms. It can be done through workshops, individual and group classes or even through on-site training. With the strict implementation of social distancing measures brought by the COVID-19 pandemic, all these methods have then turned into digital. So regardless if you’re about to take up a corporate training program or you’re looking for lectures, expect to have these learning materials in an online setting. 

While online learning can be pretty unusual, this new technique comes with great benefits. By taking advantage of online training, lectures and workshops, you’ll get to avoid physical interaction with other people, keeping you safe against the risks of COVID-19. Moreover, this will give you the freedom to learn at your own pace and work in the environment you’re most comfortable in. 

Individual and Group Learning

Online learning and development have tons of benefits for many professionals and businesses. While most people have found how to effectively work individually, others have learned to work as a team and have developed team-based skills. Understanding how to work successfully with a team can be beneficial especially for aspiring managers. You can choose freely which approach will work best for you. The good thing is online learning gives you the choice to take advantage of both approaches. 

Online Certification

One of the major ways COVID-19 has affected professional learning and development is that it allows you to obtain certification in your line of work through various online platforms. With this, you’ll get certified digitally and will be able to develop your skills better without the need to wait for the offline programs to start their operations again. 

Most healthcare professionals are taking advantage of online certification today. This allows them to provide better medical care to patients and provide help in fighting against the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Content Diversity

Professionals can also take advantage of even better content through online learning and development. With businesses investing in more diverse content to optimise the learning process and experience, more professionals will be able to complete the course faster, allowing them to make their contribution to a growing business. 

With online learning and development, you can get to consume efficient content including webinars, guided tutorials, blogs, infographics, podcasts and a lot more. Unlike physical training and lectures, these learning materials are available online, allowing you to re-read or re-watch them anytime you need to. 

Employee Development Programs

Most established companies have now realized the value of their employees’ professional growth. As such, more and more businesses are now investing in employee development programs. Through these learning programs, employees can develop more skills that can help them contribute to the growth of the business as the new normal occurs. 

The Takeaway