Training trends 2013

 

Whilst over the past few years organisations have been sitting on their budgets and rationing training more heavily than usual, the trend for 2013 seems to be that new spending is on its way. Training (and marketing) your way out of a recession has often been quoted as the way forward and as new shoots of growth begin the appear, this can be expected to rapidly take off.

But the recession has changed the training world. Here are 5 trends that we expect to see more of in 2013.

Trend #1. No longer is it as common to have a class full of participants who have been sent because "it might be useful". Far more is the trend towards personalised learning using a wide range of resources, from classroom based training to on-line and on-mobile resources.  In fact, a training manager is now far more a resource manager providing knowledge based learning opportunities. Their role is to find and disseminate learning opportunities and reinforce learning to ensure it is embedded in the organisation.

Trend #2. Senior executives are taking more interest and applying more influence in the learning requirements. The potential impact of learning on project outcomes is being seen as critical as organisations move forward. Learning initiatives are about increasing the productivity and effectiveness of the organisation.

Trend #3. Another trend has been the rise of the knowledge repositories. Using social media, such as closed and open groups on Facebook and Ning, members of the organisation can share information with their colleagues. Whilst file sharing has been around for years, opportunities for sharing content have become much easier and more widespread. Content creators and curators will become far more important as they collate and collect libraries of information for use in the future.

Trend #4. All things video are set to dominate over the next few years. Video traffic reached 51% of online activity in 2010 and is set to climb to 70-80% by the end of 2013. And with the growth of smart phones and tablets enabling us to watch video anywhere and everywhere it has to be the key trend of the year.

Trend #5. And finally, we are seeing the rise of virtual online video based training. Products such as Livestream, which allow you to join and watch live events are becoming all the rage.

So where will your learning take you in 2013?