If I put this into context of my corporate L&D journey, it's a significant shift in education and workplace learning. One that hasn't just adopted technology but a generation that successfully bridged the gap between digital and analogue (albeit how many of you still say you tape a programme on your SKY telly box?) L&D have been pioneers of continuous development, not just learning how to use it, but unskilling and reskilling to continually evolve. In school I used overly thumbed copies of books and scribbled notes in jotters, my kids got iPads. In corporate I started writing content on acetate sheets before PowerPoint was a thing. Learning life in my early career was a largely static landscape where information was scarce (and fingers were covered in ink from editing training for overhead projectors) Then came the internet, mainstream personal computing and not forgetting inventing "learning in the flow of work" as we learned how to use email, use the web and access essential tools for knowledge work. This laid the ground work for the subsequent digital education and training.
To stay in the game, L&D had to be ahead of the curve to remain relevant. We were drivers of digital learning adoption, championing the LMS and other e-learning platforms and toolkits in recognition that the speed of business required scalable digital alternatives to costly and time consuming classroom training, looking for ways to blend the approach and cut time to competence.
Today, at this time. L&D is at it again, as technology evolves from digital delivery to intelligent learning systems. Having mastered the "how" (technology of delivery) we are now focusing on the "what" and "when" (personalised and on-demand).
So lessons from this old Gen X'r. When people talk about L&D getting a seat at the table as a more strategic player, or old timers remaining relevant, look at the career/function arc in the last 25+ years. It's been opening the doors and letting people into the meeting room, demonstrating that continuous improvement and upskilling is essential. It's driving the corporate investment into AI powered tools that offer personal pathways, feedback on demand and adaptive content. Moving away from one size fits all.
As organisations are looking to relevance in their marketplace for customers, they could do well to take lessons from Generation L&D where unlearning and relearning is the Imperative. The willingness of L&D to personally reinvent is a powerful example for all areas of the corporate landscape. If there is a key insight that can be taken for business it's that despite what they may think. L&D isn't just there to serve the consumers of learning. They are crucial change agents, who not only understand the full spectrum of learning from it's rigid pre-digital past to the flexible, AI driven future, but they possess the institutional knowledge and digital fluency to guide organisations through the phases of technological disruption. Their deep understanding of educational transformation is critical to maintaining a competitive, adaptable workforce.
This rant has been brought to you by too much coffee and the touchy topic of relevance.
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