The 40-year career is gone, replaced by lifelong learning and diverse career paths; the talent economy has arrived and the traditional, linear career path is a thing of the past. Learners are moulding education to suit their long term knowledge needs and adapting it to our modern lifestyles.
Opportunities to support a lifetime of learning need to be provided in ways that are flexible and adaptable, ensuring accessibility for all.
To achieve this, the full capabilities of digital and virtual learning must be realised. They will become the new normal this decade: people are using technology in every aspect of their lives and are now embracing and in fact expecting it whilst they are learning. From online degrees, artificial intelligence (AI) tools used to extract core learning from every online interaction and smart devices delivering apps for everything, people expect the future of learning to be made easier and more engaging with technology. Whether you are a customer-centric or an employee-focused company, success hinges on sustaining this culture of lifelong learning. Its often believed that our employees are motivated primarily by money, benefits, bonuses, etc. Whilst these benefits are of course important, employees are increasingly motivated by the opportunity for them to develop, learn and expand their minds alongside having access to essential tools to do their job and to know what is expected of them.
People want to be involved and to have the opportunity to advance in their career. What we must do is tap into their knowledge base, giving employees the ability to think critically and creatively, able to communicate ideas and concepts, and to cooperate with other human beings in the process of inquiry and action. These are the critical skills for the digital Future of Work.
The concept of lifelong learning is about opportunities to learn without boundaries defined by their role, in different settings, and through different mediums. It calls for innovation, as well as a more holistic, flexible and open-minded way of looking at education. And most importantly, its not a linear process with a simple start and finish.
At Gradvert, it has always been our mission to enhance business performance, by improving people through lifelong learning. In 2012, we set up the business with the initial aim to support graduates and help organisations through creating bespoke training programmes to provide leadership development. Weve evolved to ensure we enable people at all life and career stages to graduate to the next level of their potential.
We have worked with a range of clients over a range of industries, but there was always one key theme that appeared. This was that talent is evenly distributed, but opportunity is not. Thats why in 2020 were stepping forward as – The Opportunity Group. We are a talent development business, and work with organisations to ensure that their existing and aspiring talent are ready for the future of work. We do this by helping clients to maximise their training budgets and apprenticeship levy funds so that they can develop critical skills, and also attract a wider pool of talent for their organisation.
Kate and Michaela, founders of The Opportunity Group, said: We created The Opportunity Group to dispel the myth that apprenticeships are old fashioned, basic ways of learning.
We believe that apprenticeships are a brilliant way to develop employees and support individuals throughout their learning journey.
The Opportunity Group message will roll out over the coming months, including our new website, new logo and more learning opportunities so we can build on our success weve had over the last eight years. Moving forward well be adapting with the times, not only helping our clients and learners to step ahead, preparing them for the future of work, but also preparing ourselves for the future of work in the world of learning.
With the current demand for upskilling and reskilling existing workforces to close the skills gap, many organisations are waking up to human and critical thinking skills becoming the driving force of future talent. There is an urgent need for companies to invest in their people strategy by developing their existing employees to become future leaders in this time of unprecedented change, as well as upskilling them to work more digitally in the future.
Are you ready for the future of work that is happening now?