Learning with impact: how do you do that?

Tiffany: “Sustainable employability is more important than ever. In the past, you used to learn a trade and then you built your entire career in it. Now you have to continue your training in order to be able to keep up with the ever-changing labour market. For example, yesterday’s solutions may no longer provide the right answer today, and jobs that exist today may look completely different tomorrow."

Julie: “Think, for example, of the impact that ChatGPT will have on the marketing sector. Creative profiles are best suited to the intelligent software – which automatically generates texts – because they will undoubtedly come into contact with it in the future. But employees in other sectors will also have to be resilient to change. And targeted training helps with that. Employees who want to learn for life are therefore a great asset.”

Julie: “Employees must be able to work independently with the new insights and skills after training. This is only possible if the material provided remains sufficiently relevant. Many different factors play a role here.

Recognisability is important for example, because as a student you are then more motivated to delve further into the material. Applying theory to recognisable situations immediately demonstrates its relevance to the employee.”

Tiffany: “In addition, students process new learning material better when it links up with existing knowledge. For example, you can only learn to avoid dangerous situations after you have first learned to recognise them. It is therefore best to start training within a general framework. This can be considered a coat rack upon which you can hang the more complex subject matter, step by step, later.

But perhaps most importantly, it is seldom, if ever, enough to cover a topic once and expect the employee to fully master the knowledge. A one-day course rarely offers the complete answer. Training programmes create a much greater and more sustainable impact.”

Julie: “With a training programme, you think more broadly rather than transferring information at one fixed time. It is also important that employees take the time to sink their teeth into the subject matter before and after the training.”

Tiffany: “At Mensura Learn&Connect for example, we warm students up to the training with a fun introductory video or survey, and we let them discover the various topics on the learning platform. After the training, students receive exercises that they can work on independently, or we provide extra tips and tricks.”

Tiffany: “We come into contact with an abundance of information every day. And we don’t always remember it. Sometimes it helps to look back at material we have seen previously, or to make new connections.

By triggering employees at different times and in different ways, they remember the subject matter better. Consider for example a mix of e-learning and classroom teaching moments. Students can first process the subject matter in their own way and at their own pace, after which any issues that are not clear can be discussed in more detail in groups. This gives participants more freedom to learn the way they want, while teachers can tailor the lessons to the individual needs of students.”

Julie: “In addition, training programmes offer more space for interaction, feedback and connection. Teachers and students can get to know each other better, which will create a close-knit group with a common goal: learning from and with each other. That “community feeling” makes developing yourself not only easier, but also much more fun.”