Removing the barriers to better learning and development

When it comes to what keeps employees engaged, motivated and invested in their future within an organisation, the opportunity to develop ranks highly as a key reason to stay – or go.

Our research reveals that 74% of UK workers are eager to learn new skills to keep pace with industry advancements.

With employees showing such an appetite to enhance their abilities, getting L&D right is a clear opportunity for organisations to ramp up engagement and see a return through a more skilled, motivated workforce.

But are they? The same research shows that despite this desire, only 54% feel they have sufficient opportunities to grow.

This desire to delivery gap shows room for improvement. So, what are the barriers getting in the way?

Put simply – being too busy. Employees – particularly younger ones – cite stacked work schedules as a key blocker to their learning and development.

Carving out dedicated time to engage with learning materials, courses or training sessions can be difficult when day-to-day demands take priority.

This is where a blend of on-the-job training, mentorships and shadowing live opportunities can help to incorporate learning in a more tangible, practical and relatable way, versus more generalised learning materials that often offer a blanket experience.

But whatever approach employers take, it’s worth considering the more fundamental issues impacting employees’ confidence in their employer’s L&D offering.

Our research highlighted three issues affecting confidence in L&D:
 

• My manager does not support my development at work
   
• There are limited opportunities for me to learn at work
   
• My employer does not pay for my training
   

Whether your learning and development programme is a bit of a ‘best kept secret’ and could have greater impact if more people were aware of what’s on offer, or you’re simply not investing enough in your offering to start with, the data shows that development opportunities are a key priority for employees. Getting it right could make a huge difference to how your people feel about their future in your organisation.
 

Jumping over the hurdles

While being much more intentional in dedicating time for learning opportunities can help employees with capacity, that only addresses the issue of practicality. To address what’s affecting employee confidence in their employer’s L&D set-up, organisations must:
 

• Encourage and enable managers to create space for learning opportunities
   
• Better signpost the opportunities available
   
• Make a financial investment in their L&D programme
   

Curious about what else is impacting employees’ experience of learning and development? From the technology gender gap to the role of AI, we cover it in our State of Learning report.