TJ - The Publication for Learning and Development

The brave new world of L&D

By Debbie Carter (March 2008 Issue)
0 Comments Comments
Article Rating:

Poor Best

Email to a friend | Print Version

Have you ever wondered what work might look like in the future? Futurists have a bold and imaginative view of what might lie ahead for us as scientific and technological advances take us into the realms of science fiction – or could that be science fact!

Imagine the world of work in 2020. Flexible working has grown enormously and is now common, especially among white collar and professional men, and in manufacturing and construction one in five men work full-time hours over four days rather than five. Moofers (Mobile Out of Office Workers) are those growing numbers of people who don’t have a specific place of work; they work in a location best suited to the task in hand – often in restaurants and clubs with designated rooms and office services, so they can make their deals and ‘recharge’ themselves and their equipment at any time of the day or night.

These are just some of the predictions made in the first stage of an ambitious research project being conducted by TJ and the Institute of Employment Studies. Entitled Learning and Development 2020: shaping change in learning, its aim is to look at what may lie ahead for L&D professionals in the future; what might workplace learning look like in 10 or 12 years’ time, and what skills and attributes will the profession need to face this brave new world?

The project has been generously funded by a group of sponsoring organisations whose names are synonymous with learning: the De Bono Foundation UK, Imparta, the National School of Government, the Sector Skills Development Agency (soon to become the Commission for Employment and Skills), and TrainerBase. Through a series of workshops, these organisations are going to shape the research to allow us to produce a reliable study, enabling us to make some predictions about what might lie ahead for our profession.

The first stage of our research is complete and the initial findings can be found on TJ Online. The researchers have looked at available data on what our world might look like in 2020 and how L&D might be affected by social, philosophical, scientific and technological change. We have posed four key questions that we hope to explore fully over the coming months:

  • How will changing demographics and workforce mobility affect the nature of the learning required?
  • How will the changing nature of business and work affect the type of employee development required?
  • How will developments in neuroscience, psychology and adult education influence how people learn?
  • How will new technologies, communications and social networks support people’s development?

So how can you get involved, or follow progress over the coming months? The initial research findings can be viewed at www.trainingjournal.com/research/ld2020, where you can post your own comments and exchange views with others involved in the project. The completed report will be available in June and will form a workshop option at this year’s TJ Annual Conference (for more on this see below).

TJ Conference 2008: celebrating best practice

The TJ Conference, which is being held in June this year at the Royal Commonwealth Club in London, has a great line-up of speakers and topics aimed at both in-company professionals and independent learning and development consultants.

Chris Humphries is the chief executive of the new Commission for Employment and Skills – a major recommendation of the Leitch Review that will start work next month. Humphries is tasked with securing a highly skilled workforce for the UK, increasing employment levels and encouraging more people from disadvantaged backgrounds into the workforce. In the opening keynote of the day, he will outline the plans ahead and their impact on L&D professionals.

Occupational psychologist, Professor Binna Kandola will close the conference with a personal perspective on the importance of individual and organisational wellbeing.

The sessions

With coaching still a much-favoured technique in people development this year, we offer the chance to see an experienced coach in action. Karen Frost will conduct a live coaching session, giving the audience the opportunity to observe and critique her approach.

What differentiates an ‘ordinary’ trainer from an ‘exceptional’ one? It’s a unique combination of style, flair, talent, content and delivery. In a session called ‘Dare to be different’, Tony Bray shares some of the secrets he believes can transform a competent trainer into an exceptional one.

Caroline Prendergast from BBC Training & Development will look at social learning – a new way of defining and providing development. In an interactive session, she will define and explain the idea, show how social learning can lead to effective long-term learning, and share some experiences and case studies.

Occasionally we encounter people
in the training room who seem to have just one purpose in being there: to wind you up. Garry Platt will use Transactional Analysis to look at the purpose and intention of ‘game playing’ and how the trainer can deal constructively and positively with it.

In a seminar called ‘Award winning L&D’, some of last year’s TJ Award winners, including Special Achievement Award winner Suzanne Lowe, will share the stories behind their award-winning entries, the problems they were trying to solve, and the hiccups they encountered along the way.

Organisations are like living beings – they live, breathe and need sustaining in order to grow and develop. In this entertaining and lively session, Lex McKee compares successful organisations with the characteristics of healthy living organisms.

Other sessions include:

  • measuring the impact of learning;
  • using cartoons to enhance learning;
  • intercultural communication;
  • lateral thinking for business success;
  • using models in training.

To find out more about the conference, visit www.trainingjournal.com/conference

The TJ Conference and Awards

When? 24th June 2008
Where? The Commonwealth Club, 25 Northumberland Avenue, London WC2N 5BJ

To register your interest in attending the TJ Conference and Awards, please contact Peter Wright at peter.wright@trainingjournal.com or on +44 (0) 20 7096 2949.

 

We have only displayed above the opening paragraph of this article. If you are a TJ subscriber, login now so you can download a PDF of this article in full, free of charge. For non-subscribers the PDF can be purchased for £9.00 see the "Buy Now" Option above.

Click here for a free 30 day trial to Training Journal

Back to top | Current TJ

 

Readers Comment

Comment on this story here >

Be the first to comment on this news story