eLearning in the Real World: Rising to Meet the Challenge of a Global Workforce

When a top five Fortune 500 company set out to elevate its internal performance by ensuring strong core skills for new hires, Technology Transfer Services was up to the task of creating a large pool of global-ready training resources. Our company was identified as the prime training vendor—tasked to coordinate project delivery, help design visual guides and instructions, and to provide software training—all on top of producing a bulk of the training material, including approximately 160 elearning modules.

The project was conceived due in large part to the current shortage in skilled tradespeople, resulting from an aging workforce and the shifting of learning expectations that is anticipated with the new incoming tech-savvy generation. A large of number of the experienced workforce is at or rapidly nearing retirement age, which necessitated a method to accelerate and scale training. Traditional means of training, including hands-on, on-the-job, self-study, etc., are proven to work; however, they are both time consuming and expensive. The inclusion of elearning modules in the project allowed new trainees to quickly and efficiently absorb the knowledge base required to hit the ground running and maximize productivity.

The new generation of worker is accustomed to a world of multi-tasking and instant gratification from recent advancements in mobile device technology and from the advent of social media. Traditional means of training do not leverage these new technologies and are not adequate by themselves to facilitate learning for Generations Y and Z, which form most of the new incoming workforce. These generations require a new methodology to training where technology is embraced to maintain engagement and facilitate the learning process. eLearning, in conjunction with other methods of training, formed a blended learning approach that our client was excited to execute.

The project is in the process of being rolled out all around the globe and the initial results are encouraging. So encouraging, in fact, that TTS continues to provide support for the client’s learning management system (LMS) and ongoing quality assurance and control. By adding elearning as a core method for delivering its employee training, the client is now able to provide consistent and effective training to their locations across the world.

John Hopkins, BSME, is a consultant for Technology Transfer Services with experience in blended learning and process improvement techniques.