Employees and businesses both face a major hurdle: how can we keep up with the vast amount of information generated daily? The issue is not just about the internet but also about the consequences of connectivity, globalization, and rapid change. Access to information is now so high that the human brain is not equipped to handle the influx. Even if it was possible, how can we all keep up with the new trends, displacing technologies, and innovative strategies and concepts of this fast-changing world?
Employee Learning
For businesses, it is no longer possible to hire based on what someone knows and learned in the past but also on the capability of the prospective employee to adopt change and evolve. Companies need employees that can advance with the changing times and incorporate new learning. For organizations to survive, the business itself must be innovative in a sustainable way. Therefore, the company must develop a learning environment that focuses on developing a culture of creativity and innovation. For this to happen, learning must take place daily.
The problem is not exclusive to the corporate world. Universities and educational institutions serve as the mechanism that develops individuals to move forward into the business community. Therefore, these organizations must keep their curriculums current to ensure that students are being prepared to solve the problems of today and tomorrow. However, preparing students for current jobs is often difficult. Many positions did not exist several years ago. So how can educational institutions prepare students for problems that do not yet exist to perform jobs that have not yet been created? The simple answer is that universities should not only be focusing on teaching specifics. Instead, these educational organizations should be focusing on developing skill sets that allow students to understand how to learn and adopt new concepts.
The New Way of Learning
One example of this technique is visible within the curriculum of computer science courses in universities. Students are generally taught a few computer programming languages such as C#, Java, and Visual Basic, among others. Students learn the syntax, or rules, for each language and learn how to develop software for a specific language. However, if students only learn those specific languages, they will only be prepared for the next few years. By the time the student graduates, a lot of the information may be outdated or even obsolete. Therefore, although the students learn specific languages, they are also educated on how to adapt abstract software development concepts into any language that they encounter. With this skill, graduated programmers can face new challenges and modify their acquired skill set to complete the task.
Understanding new trends should not be exclusive to computer science. It is necessary to incorporate this into any college, vocational, or training program that prepare future workers, entrepreneurs, and business leaders. Any program that involves teaching must prepare students to think critically become lifelong learners who are not afraid of change. Ultimately, companies will replace individuals who are not able to adapt to meet new requirements.
Employees should not be afraid of this new climate. Instead, this new environment should be a motivation to learn new skills. Companies and employees can seek knowledge by signing up for training programs, such as TrainingABC, and develop or update skills. Individuals need to spend a few hours a week learning anything new not only within their area of knowledge but also on related areas or completely new topics. The absence of such learning is a guaranteed way to become obsolete.
