In the third part of our three-part series with the business partners, Rod Hattch and Jana Clyde from Wisdom Learning, we are discussing the role of training organisations in preparing employees for the changing nature of work in the 21st Century.
Wisdom is a Canberra-based Registered Training Organisation recently recognised as the ‘2016 Service Champion – Small Business’ at the, Customer Service Institute of Australia’s, Service Excellence Awards held in Melbourne.
How is training changing to meet the needs of a future workforce?
Rod Hattch: We do business improvement programs where we take a nationally recognised qualification, but we map it to the skills being implemented in the workplace and having people actually practising these skills because the future of work is no longer about job competencies its about skills. While we keep the methods by which we train regularly updated, the focus is on the individual and their capacity and skill to do what they need to do.
Our primary business is working with clients as a partner. We started with a national organisation recently and while there’s content we have to deliver, we have latitude about how we get there. We’re letting the business needs guide what we do next. It’s a fantastic way to learn because it’s very responsive and very flexible. We are aligning the learning to the business need but the evolution is organic, it’s creative. The clients love it but it requires the participants to get used to it because for years people have learned in a certain way.
Training versus University?
Rod Hattch: There needs to be development opportunity around capabilities in a whole lot of roles rather than just a focus on getting a qualification. The problem is funding is tied to qualifications. I think it will shift but it will be a slow burn before we get there. But I think it has to and industry will demand it.
I no longer see ourselves as a training organisation, I see us as a learning partner and we help people learn we don’t train them. That is philosophically different. While we’ve always done it that way we’ve never come out and articulated it as clearly as we do now.
Jana Clyde: It’s not a transactional relationship, we’re building a learning community and that goes both ways. The more people who are part of the community the more it helps to engage others so it becomes self-fulfilling. People are sharing all this great information and our role as facilitators is to hold the space to allow really great things to happen. And that’s something that we do really well.
We also recognise that not all the learning is going to come from us. We create the space, the opportunity and maybe the challenge and participants will learn from each other. They will learn from the resources we provide and the resources they source themselves.
Look at all the information they’ve got available online now. It’s a different world. The qualifier to all that is you still need the facilitation to focus it, direct it and help the learning.
Facilitator and environment are both crucial for this experience and that’s what Wisdom provides.
Read more on our interview with Wisdom Learning:
Part 1 - The Experience Effect: Building a Brand through Customer Service
Part 2 - Keeping your Brand Fresh: Systematic Innovation
About Lighthouse Business Innovation Centre
Lighthouse has a strong track record of supporting entrepreneurs, researchers and inventers on the path from concept to commercialisation. Since July 2008, Lighthouse has worked with over 990 distinct enterprises and provided group and peer based services to over 3400 enterprises and individuals. For over five years Lighthouse has successfully delivered business advice, education, mentorship and networking opportunities to help these businesses commercialise their ideas and grow their companies. Lighthouse also delivers programs such as the ACT Microcredit Program for the ACT Government. Visit www.lighthouseinnovation.com.au for more information.
