LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT ANGELA BINGHAM
Corporate learning versus formal education:
you can and should have it all
Angela Bingham, Executive Director People and Capability at the Open Polytechnic, unpacks the traditional view of poverty and education, and looks at how formal education and corporate learning both need a place in an organisation’s capability strategy.
E
ducation is a pathway out of poverty. We all recognise this, and the research tells us the same. I was doing some reading and found an article in the International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology: The impact of vocational education and training programmes on recidivism (Newton et al, 2016 ). It states, “it is clear that levels of education, training, and employment for ex-prisoners everywhere are much lower than for the general population”. Virginia Tech produced research in 2016 (Gault et al, 2016) that single mothers with a post-secondary degree have a 33 per cent lower poverty rate than those without a post-secondary degree. The Human Sciences Research Council and Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences also 22
HUMAN RESOURCES
SUMMER 2019
have articles that support the view that education is a pathway out of poverty. We can’t assume that, because those in the New Zealand workforce are working, they aren’t in poverty or impoverished, mentally or physically. New Zealand media report the rising cost of living in New Zealand, so much so that we have working families turning to food banks and feeling like they are struggling.
We can’t assume that, because those in the New Zealand workforce are working, they aren’t in poverty or impoverished, mentally or physically. Poverty in the workplace can reflect the true meaning of poverty (not having enough income to meet needs or a complete lack of means). There are many different forms of poverty. I suggest we consider a broader definition that is more reflective or inclusive of the New Zealand workforce. Perhaps that connotation is a fixed mindset, a self-limiting belief or imposter syndrome, a more psychological sense of poverty.
Therefore, in a work setting, how about we consider education as a pathway out of poverty, as well as a means of contributing to our capability strategy and our wellbeing strategy. As Michelle Obama said, “Education is the single most important civil rights issue that we face today”. So let’s look at the difference between education and corporate learning to help us truly understand how both can support our organisations and our employees.
As Michelle Obama said, “Education is the single most important civil rights issue that we face today. Corporate learning is learning that enables individuals to meet specific business goals. It is often visionary and provides vital elements that sell to the learner. Most corporate learning initiatives start with answering the question, “what is in it for the learner?”. What is the hook that engages learners’ hearts and minds? Topics can range from compliance, fancy communications, new systems, processes, procedures,
