Training is Critical to Fill the Skills Gap
As the economy improves, companies are increasing their spending on corporate training. According to Forbes 2014 Corporate Learning Factbook, US spending on corporate training grew 15% last year (the highest growth in seven years). One reason for this growth is that, as we recover from the recession, companies see a significant skills gap.
Today’s Skills Gap
The biggest areas where companies are seeing the gap are in computer science, life sciences, mathematics, physical sciences, and engineering. Businesses are increasing their training budgets to address this need. According to bersin.com, year-over-year training budgets have increased for the last four years. Leadership Development comprises the biggest portion of the budget (35%). More than 60% of all companies state that “leadership gaps” are their biggest business challenge.
Key to Effective Training
Organizations with a focus on training also need a way to measure the impact of training. Are the training participants retaining what they’re learning? Are they applying the information they learned to their jobs?
There are many options available for training employees today. Everything from traditional offsite and onsite workshops, videos, online channels, virtual learning and the traditional formal classroom education. The MOOC (Massive Open Online Courses) market has exploded over the last couple of years and many corporations are considering it as well. Online education is a great way to extend classes to new students and support the classroom experience. The key is to have solid learning objectives in place and tools to measure the impact.
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