COVID-19 has undoubtedly changed the world as we know it for the foreseeable future.

But how was COVID changed the world of work and how can we continue to develop and upskill employees during a pandemic?

How Has COVID Changed the World of Work?

COVID-19 has resulted in an uncountable number of changes to the world of work, but here are three of the main changes that we believe will impact the business environment:

• Changes in Visitor Policies
  Many companies have changed their visitor policies; some are only allowing a small number of visitors and others aren’t allowing any visitors at all. Teams that frequently travel between bases or visit clients face-to-face will be most impacted by changes in companies’ visitor policies and may have to do meetings virtually for the most-part.
  
  
• New Operational Structures
  Many organisations now have teams that work either entirely or partly from home. This can make communication and collaboration more difficult, making it an opportunity for employees to learn new skills.
  
  
• Financial Support for Employers
  Since the furlough scheme was announced in March, almost 10 million jobs were furloughed. The furlough scheme was introduced to aid job retention however, it is likely that when employees do return to work, their skills will be outdated and they will be expected to quickly and successfully adapt to the post-COVID environment.

Many, if not all, organisations have had to change the way they operate and have had to change their goals, business strategy and priorities; this has left many employers debating whether or not to train during COVID-19.

Should We Train During COVID-19?

The answer is resounding ‘yes’.

As unorthodox as it may seem, there are several reasons why now, during a pandemic, is an ideal time to train:

• New skills demand
  Employees now need a different skill set than they did pre-COVID, meaning that organisations are at a risk of a skills shortage if they don’t upskill and reskill their teams.
  
  
• Furlough
  Many employees across the nation are still furloughed, meaning they have a lot of spare time; a great way to utilise this spare time is to learn new skills to prepare for the return to work.
  
  
• Government-funded training for SMEs
  SME’s now have access to 95% funded training for up to 10 people; for example, an 18-month leadership and management training programme that would have originally cost £7,000pp (£70,000 for 10 people) will now only cost employers £350pp (£3,500 for 10 people)

What Are the Next Steps?

To train effectively through these times, here are three next steps we recommend taking:

1. Skills Gap Analysis
   Firstly, we recommend analysing your teams and identifying their strengths and weaknesses; this will show you which areas your teams would benefit from training in. A great, simple-to-use tool for this is Skills Gap Analysis.
   
   
2. Choose the Right Type of Programme for You
   Once you have identified what area your employees need training in, e.g. leadership and management, project management or sales, the next step is to choose which type of training is best suited to your organisation. The type and level of programme you choose will depend on your employees’ position, how much time they have to dedicate to the programme, and what your budget is.
   
   
3. Research Training Providers
   Once you have identified exactly what programme you’re looking for, e.g. a level 5 leadership and management apprenticeship, you will need to thoroughly research different training providers and choose one that is suitable for your organisation and meets all of your requirements.

If you’d like some support with any of these three steps, you can click here to request a call with one of our training experts.

“Successful people invest in education, development and personal motivation, knowing that these are the tools for success” Grant Cardone.