I think it is key that all companies understand the impact that technology is having within learning and development. This isn’t a future trend that people are planning for, it is already happening and companies need to embrace technology to suit the way in which people are choosing to learn. This also fits well with the sustainability issue that companies (especially EDF Energy) are focusing on, as technology enables less travel, more efficient ways of delivering training, no printing being done and so on.
Another area of focus within learning and development is the new approach to the actual roles that people are undertaking. The role of learning and development business partner seems to be a large trend at the moment as the role is moving more towards a pure consultation with the business approach. The movement towards a business partner demonstrates that learning and development is being seen as an important role within companies and is allowing a more professional focus.
I will be answering questions on a variety of topics as part of a panel at the World of Learning Conference, and will be sharing my thoughts on where I believe learning and development is going in the future.
I believe that companies need to be focusing on learning and development at all times, but especially now due to the impact of the recession. Many companies need to plan for the future and look at the potential skills shortage in various industries. At EDF Energy we are planning for the future; one way we are doing this is investing heavily in learning and development and our chief executive, Vincent de Rivaz, commissioned a survey to examine what business leaders thought was required to close the skills gap in his role as national ambassador for HRH The Prince of Wales, president of the Business in the Community (BITC) (July 2009 – July 2010). The results showed there was great interest but little action and now BITC is setting up a taskforce of forward-looking companies such as EDF Energy who will share best practice on the skills needed for the future.
L&D can play a vital role during economic recovery. We are in the right position to support businesses in planning for their future needs, ensuring they provide workers with the skills and knowledge required for emerging market trends and customer need. It is also a good time to invest in people as this will have a knock-on effect on retention and engagement, plus for some companies it will be a quieter time and will not have such a business impact with people away from their daily jobs. This will ensure organisations retain their talented employees, to continue to be developed and motivated and ready to hit the floor running. The skills gap presents a challenge to both Government and business, but it’s a positive challenge. We have the jobs, and, as in the example of EDF Energy, we are going to great lengths to train and inform both existing and future employees. We also want to encourage young people take up science, technology, engineering and maths subjects at age 13 to give them a good chance of interesting careers when they enter the job market and so that the skills for the future are available to businesses like ours.
Rachel Sparrow, research and development consultant, EDF Energy
Rachel will be speaking at the World of Learning Conference from 28 to 29 September.
