Training solutions: why use e-learning?

It is no secret that an efficient workforce is the cornerstone of any successful organisation. However, to ensure employee efficiency and reduce the skills gap, training managers and management as a whole must look for quality training solutions to provide their staff with opportunities for training.

Unfortunately, employee training has gotten a bad reputation over the years, with more staff stating that the training solutions are tedious and unnecessary. This has called for new training solutions to come to the forefront. If properly utilised, these solutions offer organisations more effective and cost-efficient ways to deliver training while also creating a happy and productive workforce. Therefore, you must match the right training solution to meet your employees’ training needs.

What are training solutions?

Training solutions provide in-person classroom training or online interactive classes to keep your staff motivated as they upskill themselves in a supportive environment.

Training solutions for skills development have been known to show performance improvement in organisations. As a result, their demand increased, and those in the education and learning and development sectors responded.

This exponential growth of training solutions and the widespread availability of digital educational resources means that millions of individuals around the globe no longer need to complete training at their workplace, but can learn from the comfort of their own homes. 

Some common training solutions include instructor-led training, simulation employee training, management-specific activities, e-learning, short courses, skills development programs and more. There are many training solutions to choose from, which might harden the decision-making progress.

Deciding which training solutions to use is the first strategic decision to make that can impact your whole company profile. Therefore, it is essential to make an informed decision on which training solution to use. Remember—training solutions must spark action wherever implemented.

Why should you make use of e-learning?

While education has remained broadly the same for hundreds of years, the demand for online training solutions grew an astonishing 400% in the last two years. This not only provided new opportunities in the education sphere but also became an essential part of everyday life. This phenomenon is e-learning, and the possibilities it presents in the digital world have only just begun.

E-learning (also known as online learning) is the modern learning system based on training and skills development through electronic teaching. E-learning is considered one of the easiest types of training solutions because it is easily accessible and can be distributed to any number of employees, whether an individual or a group of 300 employees.

The educational opportunities provided by e-learning can range from short courses to long-term training programs for all the students and employees interested in new skills development.

The benefits that e-learning has for your employees

E-learning can be used for a variety of reasons, including training company staff remotely and improving their skills, ability and knowledge gap. There are also multiple ways in which your employees can benefit from e-learning. Some of the key benefits include:

Increased employee retention

Whether it’s schooling or training company employees, e-learning today has shown to increase retention rates and immensely reinforce the learning process. This is due to its “everyone wins” nature. Increased flexibility, heightened productivity, easy accessibility to expertise, promotion of learner accountability, collaborative characteristics, and facilitation of those who cannot meet face-to-face are only a few of the benefits this learning delivery method brings.

It is time-friendly

Recent studies have indicated that 41% of all the students in South Africa reported that e-learning is better and preferred than in-person classroom training. Furthermore, another study has shown that online learning takes less than half the time to complete compared to traditional learning methods. This makes it evident that online learning efforts aid the learning experience, knowledge comprehension, and retention of those participating and allow for a more convenient way of living and learning.

Remote learning always wins

With online learning comes the flexibility of learning from anywhere and anytime. Whether from their own homes or in different global locations, individuals can educate themselves remotely via online learning platforms.

It puts the fun back in learning

Today, many online learning platforms integrate interactive and entertaining techniques into e-learning short courses to boost greater learner engagement levels and quicker information retention. These techniques can be anything from gamification to group quizzes.

It promotes blended learning

Online learning is not an educational approach that just pushes traditional learning efforts to the curb. Instead, e-learning training solutions make room for a hybrid approach. For example, combining online-based methods such as virtual classes with online-based methods such as in-person assessments to generate a blended learning approach has shown to be exceptionally effective during the learning process.

The benefits that e-learning has for your organisation

As with employees, e-learning also includes various benefits for your organisation. Some of the key benefits include:

It is flexible

Because e-learning constitutes learning taking place online, employees can now complete their learning at a time and pace that suits them. This means that there is no more need for employees to be unavailable for long periods throughout the day because of training.  

It is cost-effective

Everyone knows the struggle of buying handbooks and how expensive the training material can get. However, with digital e-learning training materials now available, these costs have been reduced and are now far less expensive than ever before. In addition, because of the nature of online learning, employees now only need access to a smart device and the internet, cutting out costs associated with renting a training venue and facilitator, transport to the venue, and employee food allowances.

Employee training progress tracking

E-learning allows you to track your employees’ training progress easily. For example, you can monitor who has completed their courses, who excelled or fell behind, who developed new skills and more.

It is evident that if not already adopted, e-learning should be quickly implemented to reap the benefits thereof.

Additionally, innovative online learning platforms and modern learning technologies have enabled e-learning to be the quickest growing market in the education industry. Whether it is an online learning solution or a quality LMS (learning management system), it is clear that having the right and most effective tools to support delivery will ensure learning success.

This could also develop opportunities to train company employees to be one step closer to obtaining a national qualification; whether it's Excel training or fire fighting the sky is the limit with e-learning.

Furthermore, experts have predicted that the benefits e-learning will bring to the future of South Africa, and the rest of the world, will exceed our expectations. Augmented and virtual reality settings, such as the Metaverse, have been identified as key trends that could drive the digital learning industry forward in the upcoming years.

Online learning platforms that are at the forefront of digital education, such as Lesson Desk, provide schools, tertiary institutions and places of work in South Africa with the right digital tools to ensure a successful and effective end-to-end e-learning experience.

Visit our website for more information on all that Lesson Desk’s digital training solutions can offer not only to South African businesses, but also to businesses worldwide.