Lizzie Crowley discusses the importance of training and development of employees during the pandemic, and what the Government can be doing to support organisations through online courses
The COVID-19 pandemic has wide reaching implications for organisations, individuals and educators: many businesses have had to temporarily, and in some cases permanently, shut up shop; organisations are continuing to have to make difficult decisions about workforce resourcing; colleges, schools, and universities have been closed, exams have been postponed; individuals have lost their jobs or been furloughed, while others have seen a dramatic shift in how, and where, they work. Disruption is likely to continue for a significant period of time, with experts suggesting that it could be up to six months before we return to a 'normal' way of life and work. Yet, the pandemic is likely to have far-reaching consequences beyond this point, for organisations, individuals, the economy and society. We need to prepare and ensure that the right support is in place to help mitigate this as much as possible.
Supporting individuals who have been affected to upskill or reskill, so that they can be ready when the economy recovers, could be part of this solution. Two weeks ago we wrote to the Chancellor to outline our idea of a wage subsidy scheme, similar to that which he subsequently announced, but we also called on him to go further and consider developing a programme to incentivise the training and development of staff who had been furloughed, lost their jobs or were experiencing a significant cut in their normal hours. The previous recession of 2008-9 could provide some insights into the types of schemes that might work in this context and it would be worth revisiting these and learning from past experience. Alongside this, the explosion in high quality digital learning content also offers a potential solution to provide access to training opportunities when movement is restricted.
The support could include a mix of financial incentives for individuals and organisations to increase uptake and completion of online courses, and could be structured along the lines of:
Alongside this the Government could develop an online portal providing career coaching and advice with access to online courses, to enable informed choice and to ensure the quality of online learning offered. A recent study for the Department of Education which involved a rapid evidence assessment national and international approaches to online adult learning provision provides some insight into effective approaches:
These are certainly challenging times, but they also potentially offer us the opportunity to do things differently. Already we are seeing many organisations leveraging the technologies needed to work and learn any time, any place, and now is the time to harness this and ensure that we do as much as we can now to support individuals and organisations prepare for the future.
Gerwyn is the CIPD’s Public Policy Adviser for a wide range of labour market issues. With lead responsibility for welfare reform, migration and zero-hour contracts at the CIPD, Gerwyn has led and shaped the policy debate and achieved substantial national media coverage through various publications. These include Zero-hours contracts: myth and reality (2013) and The growth of EU labour: assessing the impact on the UK labour market (2014).
In addition Gerwyn authors the CIPD's high profile and influential quarterly Labour Market Outlook. Gerwyn is an experienced labour market commentator, making regular appearances in the national media and on other public platforms, including several appearances before the House of Commons Work and Pensions select committee.
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