Workplace learning is often perceived as a luxury for organizations. Based on my corporate experience in the past two decades, the area of learning and development has rarely if ever been considered the top organizational priority for business success; thus, learning and development budgets are usually the first to be trimmed. Until recently, workplace learning is experiencing one of its most significant disruptions of the past 20 years due to rapid and radical changes in technology and other causes (Wilson et al., n.d.). Recognising the then and now of workplace learning, the purpose of this speculative essay is to project how workplace learning will evolve in 2030. This paper summarizes findings from various literatures demonstrating how the importance of workplace learning for organizations and the trends of labour market, such as the employment models and changes in technology and continuing education, affect workplace learning in the future. The research supports my belief that workplace learning in 2030 will be optimistic with more flexibility, agility, collaboration, and recognition within organizations.
To predict how workplace learning will evolve in 2030, it is important to rediscover the past and understand the growing interest in workplace learning. Workplace learning can be defined as the acquisition of skills or knowledge through formal or informal practices that occurs in the workplace (Cacciattolo, 2015). According to Livingstone (2012), on-the-job learning was a standard approach at the workplace for most of human history before the advent of formal education. The Industrial Revolution introduced a wide scale of formal education; however, it was realized that traditional preparation courses are not sufficient for long-term occupational practice, and some important learning for practice can only be acquired from practicum experiences (Livingstone, 2012). This indicates that workplace learning assumes a significant role and remains a growing interest in the workplace.
Matthews (1999) claims that the skills discrepancy of employees, rapid change of technology, and competition between local and international organizations have led many organizations recognizing the importance of workplace learning and reconsidering the roles of their workforce. Today, the interest of workplace learning for organizations continues to rise in this ever-changing work environment. For example, the COVD-19 pandemic in 2019 has triggered companies to evaluate the merit of workplace learning while coping with emergency shifts to remote work (Educause, 2021). As such, my company’s latest 5-year strategy plan states the importance of strengthening employees’ resilience and agility through increase investment in training and development (BC Hydro, personal communication, October 27, 2022). The goal is to keep the employees and assets safe, to build a more inclusive workplace, and to provide the skills employees need to deliver on their core work. This illustrates organizations that support people development through workplace learning are best positioned to achieve stability, openness, agility, and collaborative work culture for their employees (Teare, 2011).
Looking through the lenses of changing landscape of employment, we are currently living in a hybrid corporate world where the labour market has become more employee-focused than ever before. As recorded by the World Economic Forum, virtual teams, freelancing and online talent platforms are all growing in the workforce, expanding the virtual work space and redefining the boundary between one’s job and private life is in the process (Comyn, 2018). Many companies such as Apple or Google have been experiencing resistance from employees who would rather work remotely and maintain flexibility and work-life balance after the global pandemic in 2019 (Arist, 2021). Because there is more power to the individual, the employee of the future will resemble a freelance worker assured with options on how and where they want to work and learn (Arist, 2021) .
Technological change has advanced workplace learning significantly in organizations. The following example illustrates the evolution of instructor-led training (ILT) to today’s era of employees’ choice of learning. Prior to 2000, the format of workplace learning was limited to live ILT with a distance learning option via telephone, or video conference (Wilson et al., n.d.). The e-learning trend in early 2000’s urged companies to invest in Learning Management Systems (LMS) that held extensive catalogs of e-modules for self-paced online learning (Wilson et al., n.d.). Based on my experience at work, LMS was not user-friendly and did not make effective use of asynchronous communication to enhance employee and/or contractor interaction and collaborative learning (Li, 2022). With the launch of YouTube and smartphones in mid-2000’s, workplace LMS became an elective resource. That is because video contents and new technologies in the market offer faster learning solutions that suit employees’ needs (Wilson et al., n.d.). Soon, I foresee that workplace LMS will no longer maintain a monopoly on learning content. It will provide personalized content that is recommended to the employees at predicted moments of need. For example, when an employee completes a course on the LMS app on their phone, it will suggest the next applicable course according to the employee’s role and needs. Thus, the employees’ choice of learning will be more instantaneous and personalized.
As technology evolution continues to accelerate, employees need to be agile for rapidly changing skills requirements and acquire relatable skills to be more favorable for employment and advancement. Comyn (2018) claims that many of the employees’ skillsets needed in the future are uncertain. The different age groups in the population that require skills upgrade is also challenging due to the diversity in aptitude, specialty, and the effects of human capital changes. According to the United Nations Population Division, the population in developed nations that is of working age will fall from 61% in 2011 to 51% in 2050 while the old-age-dependency ratio in these nations will grow from 12 to 48 per hundred of the working-age population (Field & Canning, 2014) . Comyn (2018) argues that it is crucial for workers to be receptive to skills advancement, and for governments to increase investment in continuing education and lifelong learning opportunities for their citizens. A proactive approach to continuing development that encourages the paradigm shift for both companies and the employees would be essential for a healthy economy and capable workforce.
In conclusion, the literatures reveal commonalities in the trends of workplace learning which point to a positive future in 2030. On the one hand, the interest of workplace learning will continue to increase as organizations recognized its importance for laying the foundation to sustain or surpass their expected business growth. On the other hand, changes in the labour market such as employment models, employees’ ideas of a fulfilled role, technology, and continuing education will provide the cautionary signs that the workforce cannot afford to be complacent and content with existing development strategies.
References
Arist. (2021, November 30). What workplace learning will look like in 2030. https://www.arist.co/post/what-workplace-learning-will-look-like-in-2030
Cacciattolo, K. (2015). Defining workplace learning. European Scientific Journal, 1, 243-250.https://www.researchgate.net/publication/277206749_Defining_Workplace_Learning
Comyn, P. J. (2018). Skills, employability and lifelong learning in the sustainable development goals and the 2030 labour market. International journal of training research, 16(3), 200–217. https://doi.org/10.1080/14480220.2018.1576311
Educause. (2021). 2021 Educause horizon report: Teaching and learning edition. https://library.educause.edu/resources/2021/4/2021-educause-horizon-report-teaching-and-learning-edition.
Field, J., & Canning, R. (2014). Lifelong learning and employers: Reskilling older workers (pp. 463–473). https://doi.org/10.4337/9780857933911.00049
Li, M. (2022, October 19). Exploring futures of workplace learning. Megan’s Blog: A MALAT Student Blog. https://malat-webspace.royalroads.ca/rru0269/exploring-futures-of-workplace-learning/
Livingstone, D. W. (2012). The Sage Handbook of Workplace Learning. Edited by Margaret Malloch, Len Cairns, Karen Evans and Bridget N. O’Connor. British Journal of Educational Studies, 60(1), 93–94. https://doi.org/10.1080/00071005.2012.660332
Matthews, P. (1999). Workplace learning: Developing an holistic model. The Learning Organization, 6(1), 18–29. https://doi.org/10.1108/09696479910255684
Teare, R. (2011). Learning at work: Practical steps to maximize the individual and organizational benefits. Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes, 3(1), 14–29. https://doi.org/10.1108/17554211111104916
Wilson, C., Pakulova, M., & Grotans, R. (n.d.). Then & now. Learning in the workplace. Professional Learning in the Workplace. http://learningintheworkplace.weebly.com/then–now.html