"Opinion Piece" was introduced in 2004. Each month an industry specialist was invited to share their view on that month's Community theme. In this Opinion Piece, Kathy Rankin poses the question: Flexible Delivery - bending or leaning?
It is becoming increasingly apparent that changing technologies will have an unprecedented impact on the service and product capabilities of Australian businesses and as a consequence, the economic wellbeing of communities.
As a result, the required skills and capabilities of the workforce will be ever changing. In all areas of work, from traditional trades, manufacturing processes and the growing business services sector, employers will be looking to themselves, as well as their workforce, to maintain currency of skills. The application of knowledge is the key to ongoing employment.
With the above comes the need for flexibility in searching out opportunities to access training to build broader skill sets. Computer literacy will be critical.
As a result of contracting operating budgets, tight operational time frames, and the quest for market edge, employers and learners are now making training decisions based on two criteria – as a response to regulatory and legislative changes, such as OH&S, and the demonstrated benefit of training to business output.
Most are becoming increasingly discerning of the product offerings and are seeking targeted training solutions that are intimately linked, and effectively respond, to their workforce development needs. The answer: flexible learning.
What does flexible learning mean? The Australian Concise Oxford Dictionary gives the following definition of flexible: that will bend without breaking, pliable, manageable, adaptable and versatile. In promoting flexible learning opportunities to small and medium enterprises it is vital that concerns about accessing the delivery tools do not stand as an impenetrable barrier to accessing the knowledge that will benefit the business and the individual.
How many training providers present a leading edge technology based training solution rather than develop a training format in collaboration with the individual business? I can sense your instant response – what about the cost?
Many small and medium enterprises, while supportive of the concept of technology based flexible learning, may be reluctant to engage with new technologies due to perceptions of costs, low levels of confidence in their own computer literacy, and for those in regional locations, access to bandwidth.
Those that do engage with flexible learning find that training becomes an integral part of business operation – dovetailing into operational time frames, accessed as ‘bites’ when the need is identified, replicating moves to just-in-time business practices in the manufacturing sector.
Others have found that rather than technology based learning applications leading to learner isolation, in industry sectors where there has not been a culture of learning, teamwork and collaborative practices have been introduced, with the outcome a more efficient, effective and harmonious workplace.
However, providers of goods and/or services often get caught up in the process of delivery. In the training context, the outcome and benefits are often only measured by the attainment of a certificate or qualification, rather than identifying the added value that access to technology may bring to the broader operations of the organisation.
In promoting the benefits of flexible learning, employers need to be supported to identify the what, when, where and why – accessibility and applicability of the training portal, on-line and personal technical support, assessment of computer literacy skills of the learner, along with an understanding of the current and future technology capabilities of the business. There is also potential for the training technologies to act as a catalyst in facilitating broader e-business capacity.
For me, the real benefit of flexible learning is its capacity to bring the source of knowledge closer to the end user – requiring the learner to be proactive rather than reactive. However, in developing stand alone technologies that are unique to the individual training provider, many businesses accessing the training will need to be convinced of the capacity for the product to be integrated into any existing or planned internet or intranet portal.
Why would small enterprises, which make up the bulk of the NSW business community, outlay time and capital to engage in flexile learning if it is sold as a stand alone training solution rather than a vital and integrated business development tool?
There is still resistance to the take-up of anything ‘e’ if it is seen as expensive, soon to be outdated and of limited benefit to overall business operation.
The outcome of research undertaken by the Australian Business Foundation on the engagement with e-commerce by businesses in regional NSW indicates that e-commerce technologies are beneficial for:
- delivering cost efficiencies,
- improving business process
- providing specific savings
- improving supply chain management, and
- adding to customer value
All of the above are relevant to the development of flexible learning approaches.
It takes time, money and commitment by both employers and trainers to ensure that flexible learning develops into the effective tool that we know it can be. Perhaps the evolving role of the training professional is to not only develop a compelling business case for employers and individuals to embrace flexible learning to build workforce capability, but to demonstrate how computer based and internet technologies can be integrated into the whole business environment to value add to existing operational, organisational and market development processes.
Kathy Rankin is Policy Adviser, Education & Training with Australian Business Limited, a broad based employer association representing the interests of 19,000 NSW enterprises.
