Key L&D Trends to Watch in 2021

While some companies may have implemented it as a "knee-jerk" reaction to the protests against George Floyd's death, DEI trainings were already on the rise.

Fremont, CA: It's difficult to overestimate the impact of the pandemic and the shift to remote work on the Learning and Development landscape. However, as in other areas, the pandemic has frequently exacerbated pre-existing trends. Efforts to promote workplace inclusivity and reskill workers, for instance, in response to developments in artificial intelligence, were already underway in many sectors.

Top trends to continue not just for the next few months but for years to come:

Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Training Is Here to Stay

While some companies may have implemented it as a "knee-jerk" reaction to the protests against George Floyd's death, DEI trainings were already on the rise. There is considerable debate about the effectiveness of such training because many of the leading companies that have implemented it have failed to measure its impact. In fact, there is some evidence that if they are carried out inappropriately, they may backfire.

Despite some criticism, DEI training is not going away. According to a recent study, 50 percent of workers between the ages of 18 and 28 left jobs in technology and IT because the company culture made them feel unwelcome or uncomfortable. Between 2003 and 2014, the proportion of women, as well as Black men in financial services, actually decreased. Workplace diversity is important to 67 percent of job seekers.

Learning Would Be More Fun and Accessible

Everyone has heard of "Zoom fatigue."

However, L&D professionals and educators have long been aware of the difficulty learners have in paying attention for extended periods of time, particularly when content is not delivered in person.

As a result of the long-standing and growing awareness of various forms of digital exhaustion, expect a new emphasis on microlearning or short-form educational lessons lasting only 2-5 minutes. Microlearning fits easily into the workdays of most employees, who claim to have only 4 minutes per day to devote to learning. Furthermore, microlearning can increase focus and long-term retentio

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