What is the future of L&D?

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Does investing in learning and development (L&D) make business sense in this post-pandemic world, when many organisations are focused on the bottom line?

This was the question posed during PwC’s Academy recent roundtable on “New world, new challenges, new opportunities”.

Today’s working environment has accelerated the necessity for digital transformation and highlighted skills gaps in the workforces of almost every sector. Upskilling human capital to bridge the digital divide is a complex challenge that requires business leaders and L&D professionals (L&D) to work together to ensure a more resilient and capable team. This was the consensus of expert panellists during the roundtable.

PwC’s Academy’s panel of experts discussed the latest trends in L&D practices and how organisations regionally and globally have addressed the challenges. Panellists included:

Khaled Bin Braik, Partner, Government & Public Sector practice, PwC Middle East
Randa Bahsoun, Partner, People & Organisation practice, PwC Middle East
Abdullah Assadi, L&D Expert and Senior Manager, PwC’s Academy
Ahmed Khairat, Associate Consultant, PwC Middle East

Conclusions:

Transforming role of L&D

The acceleration of digital transformation is transforming L&D from a support role to a strategic and leading role within organisations. It is expected that L&D leaders will take up more seats at the C3 table in the coming years. Speakers also highlighted global companies, such as Nike, Ericsson and SAP that have begun to institutionalise the Chief Learning Officer (CLO)role within their executive teams.

Introducing upskilling & reskilling programs

The panellists also discussed the introduction of digital upskilling programs. Upskilling is critical to organisations transforming their workforces to drive productivity, innovation and growth. While automation, data analysis, artificial intelligence (AI) and other emerging technologies can deliver productivity, technology is only as good as the leaders who identify its opportunities, the technologists who deliver it and the people who work with it every day.

The speakers commended global firms such as IBM, JPMorgan Chase and AT&T who have committed between $600 million to $1 billion towards digital upskilling of their workforce.

Personalising and enhancing learner experience

According to the panellists, while the expectations of learners continue to evolve, organisations are looking less for conventional training and more for tailored programs. The speakers highlighted gamification as an effective method of maximising employee engagement and teaching digital skills in a virtual environment.

Blending virtual & digital learning

The speakers discussed how Covid-19 has accelerated the adoption of digital learning technologies and cited global firms Walmart, ExxonMobil and UPS as having successfully integrated VR technologies into L&D programs to provide an immersive learning experience for employees.

L&D challenges in the Middle East

According to the speakers, a more strategic approach needs to be incorporated in measurement of efficacy of L&D initiatives, and more direct alignment with the organization’s overall business strategy.

Measuring efficacy of training programmes and how this is quantified against the return on investment is also a major challenge for Middle East firms. According to the panellists, tracking progress from upskilling initiatives is just as important as implementing them.

Of equal consideration is the challenge to ensure engagement and appeal of learning programmes for multigenerational workforces, which has become more apparent with the rapid advancement in technology.The webinar was attended by senior business representatives from major regional financial organisations.