Executive Summary After a whirlwind year (or two), we know that both training providers and buyers are eager to get learning back on track. To help training providers and learners set their 2022 training goals, we’ve taken stock of course interest over the past 3 years. We’ve also considered what 2022 and beyond might bring. 2021’s topics of interest seemed to fall into 2 broad categories: i. how to make (remote) work work better and ii. re-thinking what work is to each of us. The future of work in 2022 relies heavily on human-centric corporate efforts in the areas of employee treatment and the employee experience. We will see wellbeing, leadership, and diversity efforts merge. People-focused training will become critical to keep organizations and their employees resilient through still-turbulent times ahead.
RAMA ERIKSSON Editor
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2021 Learnings From our Users It’s not much of a surprise, actually. The topics of interest of 2021 seemed to fall into 2 broad categories that summed up the year pretty well: (1) how to make work work better (especially remote work) and (2) re-thinking what work is to each of us. COVID-19 drove interest in the types of training courses you'd expect-- Virtual Teams, Train the Trainer, Business Management, Engineering and Maintenance, Delivery and Meeting Tools. Likewise, the top keyed-in search terms on the findcourses.com website also reflected the push-pull of the year. “Resilience,” “interpersonal skills,” and “sensitivity” all rose to emerge alongside perennial linchpins, “leadership” and “communication.” It’s quite an understatement to say that the past two years have been a learning experience for everyone. Yet, that is the reality. What began as reactionary measures to survive a seemingly fleeting situation has evolved into the protracted norm, the so-called “new normal.” Organizations went through caring and digital transformations. Leadership became more human-centric. Employee wellbeing at work became a vital focus area. Workers work differently now in order to make remote work work. So do the managers managing these remote workers. Hybrid and work-from-anywhere work policies are now mainstream.
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2021 Learnings From our Users It’s not likely we’re going back any time soon. … And, that can be a good thing!
Fervent social justice concerns dragged Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) into the forefront for all to witness and make sense of. Both Public and Private sectors, thereby emerged as accomplice (whether voluntary or involuntary). Diversity education is not merely “nice to have” anymore. Employees now expect and trust their employers to take the lead when it comes to social change. Searches for “sensitivity training” courses within findcourses.com more than doubled from 2019, epitomizing this shift to “must have” distinction.
Likewise, the record number of workers who quit jobs as part of the “Great Resignation” exposed the burnout, bad bosses, and bad culture so many had simply been submissively tolerating for the sake of having employment.
On the flip side, companies that thrived despite the mass exodus spotlighted employee experience as the cornerstone to a healthy organization. The future of work relies heavily on employee treatment and experience as the rallying point for corporate efforts in 2022.
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Top 10 Categories in 2021 - by Views
Quality Management and Engineering rose in direct response to the need for improved quality and safety standards and protocols. Sales’ continued presence in the Top 10 underscores the pressure companies faced in maintaining and generating revenues during strained economic times.
Leadership remains the most viewed category on findcourses.com for the 3rd year in a row. The remaining Top 10 tells the story of the immediate reactionary response to COVID-19. Naturally, this urgency to “figure things out” is what drove course interest in 2021. Managers turned to Business & Management and Virtual Teams courses to flow with the new way of working, deal with retainment issues, manage crises, and build and support virtual teams.
Meanwhile, Executive Education rose to the Top 10 for the first time. This is again driven by COVID-19, as many executives suddenly found themselves with more flexible schedules-- due to remote working-- and an increased availability of executive education offered online or via some type of flexible learning scheme. It also highlighted the increased need for upskilling even within the higher ranks.
8 Note: course interest statistics are based on findcourses.com’s user statistics for the years ending 01 Dec 2021, 31 Dec 2020 and 31 Dec 2019.
Top 10 Categories in 2021- by Inquiries In addition to page views, we look at course inquiries to identify trends in course interest. Course inquiries refer to requests by users for more information about the courses.
Courses that Rose in Popularity ●
Virtual Teams
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Train the Trainer
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Business & Management
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Engineering
The top 2 categories by inquiries have been remarkably stable for the last 3 years. Leadership and Communication Skills hold the first 2 positions, respectively, exemplifying their status as venerable mainstays not to be neglected. Likewise, Sales has steadfastly held the 5th position for 3 years straight.
Following the trends in the Top 10 categories by views, Virtual Teams, Engineering, and Business & Management made the steepest climbs into the Top 10 categories by course inquiries over the last 3 years. Train the Trainer also rose into the Top 10. Again, these increases were caused largely by the impact of the pandemic.
9 Note: course interest statistics are based on findcourses.com’s user statistics for the years ending 01 Dec 2021, 31 Dec 2020 and 31 Dec 2019.
TRAINING TOPICS ON THE RISE
2022 OUTLOOK In this section, we've pulled together what we see on the horizon for HR in the year ahead.
These are the topics we’ve identified as on the rise-- Healthcare, Stress Management/ Mental Health, Diversity, and Executive Education. Whether due to changing employment patterns, reskilling, or upskilling, these learning categories are the ones that will continue to make headlines in 2022. Course interest in Healthcare showed a near doubling in interest with 46% growth over the last 3 years. Views of Diversity training courses increased by 111% since 2019. Executive Education saw increases of 194%. And somewhat unsurprisingly perhaps, the Stress Mgmt/ Mental Health category “won” among the “fast movers” by growing its views an astronomical 384% since 2019.
The Top 10 categories tell the story of the initial reaction to the COVID outbreak and managing work in its wake. It is what’s happening just below the surface, in any event, that writes the story for the future of work and its training needs.
Over and above these “fast movers” is one additional training topic that’s been slowly creeping up the rankings and should not go unnoticed. This is the “one to watch” for its relevance and importance in 2022 and the future of work.
As such, we’ve identified the training topics “fast movers” at findcourses.com. The fast movers indicate their importance as the new essential skills categories for the new normal of business.
You will see why Workplace Coaching training needs to be on your skills development radar.
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TRAINING TOPICS ON THE RISE
Healthcare There’s been a noticeable increase in interest in healthcare-related training in the past 3 years. This trend mirrors the increases in enrollment in nursing programs at all degree levels which administrators say will continue for the current 2021-2022 school year. The rise is taking place even as U.S. hospital leaders report that thousands of nurses have quit or retired during the outbreak. Causes behind the exodus include: burnout, demoralization from the enormous pressures of patient care, Covid-created hostile workplaces, and simple frustration. Healthcare as a sector is especially attractive as a stable, recession-proof, and well-paid area to be in, particularly for those job-seekers changing industries due to pandemic-induced job loss. Three reasons driving the increase in healthcare interest: 1. Answering the Call to Serve For many, the motivation is a simple one to serve one’s community and to have meaningful work. This phenomenon is not unlike the increases in military enlistment after 9/11.
2. A “Hot” Sector Healthcare occupations are projected to add more jobs than any other occupational group. Job openings in the healthcare sector are higher than pre-pandemic levels when, even then, there was a skills shortage (particularly in nursing). Employment within these occupations is projected to grow 16% within the decade-- much faster than the average for all occupations.
3. Well-Paying The healthcare sector has historically been known as paying its workers well compared to other industries. Not only have salaries been higher than the average for all occupations, they’ve even increased significantly since the beginning of the pandemic.
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TRAINING TOPICS ON THE RISE
Stress Management / Mental Health Stress management and mental health boast the highest increase in views in the past 3 years on findcourses.com among our “fast movers.” Pandemic measures are lingering indefinitely and the new normal of remote or hybrid working ensures employee wellbeing issues-- and training to counteract them-- will remain high going into 2022. Although sparked as a reactionary increase to the pandemic, employee stress management and mental health promise to be among organizations’ biggest wellbeing challenges. Workplace wellbeing is no longer a “nice-to-have'' benefit. It’s become a broader more holistic term encompassing both stress management and mental health. The intricate puzzle of employee experience is being reborn.
Organizations are now pandemic “woke.” Looking introspectively, they’re shifting their thinking. More employers are seeing burnout for what it is-- a systemic issue, not an individual one. As such, going into 2022, people leaders will need and seek out more training to be increasingly vigilant for signs that an employee is in distress. We predict continued interest for learners looking for information as well as leaders looking for ways to connect and manage in a human-centric way in order to counteract employee burnout.
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TRAINING TOPICS ON THE RISE
Diversity Inclusivity will permeate entire organizations — from leadership to the workforce. L&D teams will need to learn how to prioritize DEIB in all of their tasks-- from program development to execution. Diversity training will emphasize unconscious bias awareness as a way to encourage authentic dialogue and solutions.
The social justice movement may have brought the diversity issue more into the forefront, but it was the pandemic that taught us all the important lesson. If people don’t feel safe, they won’t be productive, innovative, or reliable. Findcourses.com saw interest in its Diversity category of courses increase 111% over the last 3 years. We anticipate this growth to continue. Moving into 2022 and beyond, “diversity” will be broadened and reframed to embody “belonging, equity, and inclusion.” Employee experiences will be created that are safe, supportive, and inclusive. We also predict that DEIB (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Belonging) will become more ingrained outside of the Human Resources function. It will be incorporated into business culture, and utilized for growth, competitive advantage, and innovation.
Additionally, and albeit not perfect yet, automation and AI in the hiring process will be on the rise to help mitigate those unconscious biases.
Impact on Remote Working Remote work is a great option for advancing diversity. It allows expanded searches to a wider talent pool both geographically and to marginalized groups who prefer the flexibility of working from home. DEIB must transcend hiring to be effective. Remote and hybrid teams will need to weave DEIB practices into their daily efforts. And, managers will need to carry the torch to ensure equity in availability and type of training, tools, workspaces, and promotability.
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TRAINING TOPICS ON THE RISE
Executive Education The demand for new skills is not limited to mid- and lower-level workers. Senior executives are also feeling the pressure to tackle the intense challenges of the COVID era business environment through upskilling. They’re increasingly taking advantage of the flexibility the COVID workplace created in order to stay relevant in a highly-competitive hiring market. As online learning becomes fully entrenched, the global executive education program market is expected to grow by 11.2% CAGR through 2031. We at findcourses.com also see this upward trend. Views for our Executive Education training category have experienced a 194% increase since 2019. Key Drivers for the growth are marked by flexibility at their core:
1. The radical digitalization of business. COVID forced the quicker adoption of technology and e-commerce. Employees in these corporate and banking sectors are now driving the exec ed market as they are compelled to upgrade their skills. 2. “No time” is no longer an excuse. The forced shift to flexible work arrangements has allowed for an increasing number of participants. 3. The availability of online learning. Even prestigious schools like The Wharton School and Stanford pushed curriculums online. Offerings also expanded to include: live online, all self-paced online, and even part time programs. Online learning is expected to dominate, growing at 13.7% CAGR. 4. Shorter term programs dominate. The “1 week to 1 month” duration courses accounted for over 46.3% of total market share.
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TRAINING TOPICS ON THE RISE
Coaching: One to Watch Workplace coaching is an important, emergent training trend for 2022 and beyond. The pandemic created an “employee as human” awakening and individual HR programs don’t hold up without fostering human-centered leadership skills. Wellbeing programs, coaching, development, and leadership coaching are all becoming interconnected to create a utopian employee experience. When employees feel valued in their work and their experience, they are more likely to stay. Organizational leaders set the tone for employee belonging, engagement, and openness to change. People don’t managers.
leave
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Great leaders aren’t managers in the traditional sense. Instead, they are coaches who focus on individual and team engagement. The “Great Resignation” caused organizations to reskill and redeploy workers. Coaching in the workplace then becomes extraordinarily important, especially in light of the predicted shift to a skills-centric workplace mentality. Leaders who focus on coaching, focus on the “people” part of being a people manager to meet goals.
Jumping in to a coaching revolution is not the simple solution, though. Coaching needs to be a mindset for managers and it requires organizational support. Managers rarely intuitively know how to coach employees. Soft skills-- now called, “Power Skills”-- are still essential to this shift. They are uniquely adapted for communicating with and managing virtually, as well as being authentically humane. Leaders at the forefront of change will embrace a coaching way of leading to exact results. Appropriate training will be a must to realize coaching’s full benefits to the employee experience.
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