Learning trends to watch out for in 2021.

Udemy published their annual learning report outlining the key findings of its 2021 Workplace Learning Trends Report. The report detailed training courses that have seen a huge increase in demand on Udemy for Business, their online learning platform. The report also shares analysis on organizational learning behaviours that will define the workplace learning in 2021.

Here are the six trends that will define learning and development in 2021:

1. Self-mastery
2. Collaboration
3. Data Literacy
4. Automation
5. Hybrid Tech
6. Cyber security

Self-mastery

The top trend listed in the report focuses on skills to assist “self-mastery.”

Anxiety management, resilience training, stress management individually saw more than a 1,000% surge in use, followed by meditation and mindfulness training increasing by 886% and 784%, respectively.

The increased demand for productivity and mental health skills indicates that employees are careful about mastering their minds and taking control of their time.

Collaboration

The report also shares the importance of collaboration in a remote work setting.

Courses key to collaboration such as listening skills, business communication, business writing, and business etiquette surged by 2000%. Conflict management and interpersonal feedback courses increased by 890% and 686%, respectively. The technology and software industry saw a more than 3,000% increase in listening skills courses.

The numbers definitely point towards the need of training to easily adapt to the remove working environment.

Data literacy

The third trend listed shares the importance of data literacy in the modern workforce.

In 2020, the consumption of business intelligence training increased 1,411%. Salesforce courses increased 664% and SAP courses saw a 428% surge. Software skills to enable data visualization also saw a boost in 2020.

For instance, Google Sheets courses increased 858% between 2019 and 2020.

Automation

Digital transformation saw a high rate of acceleration during the coronavirus pandemic.

At the same time, courses to enhance automation skills have also increased in the last year. Between 2019 and 2020, PyTorch and TensorFlow courses increased 542% and 458%, respectively, with OpenCV seeing a 300% surge in demand. Within the technology and software industry, TensorFlow courses increased 1,599%.

Hybrid tech

Udemy interestingly titled this section “Farewell Silos, Hello Hybrid Tech Roles.”

The report provides data illustrating ways organizations are embracing agile project management. Consumption of DevOps skills courses such as JMeter increased 2,590% between 2019 and 2020. Docker certified associated courses increased 1,308% during this time. Online learning related to cloud computing also saw a boost with Microsoft AZ-900 courses seeing a 2,417% increase on their platform.

Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity attacks have increased markedly during the coronavirus pandemic.

Organization prioritizing cybersecurity training is listed as sixth workplace skills trend. With the switch to remote work, general training topics including information, network, wireless, and web security saw notable growth as members of IT teams helped structure a safe remote workforce.

To Sum it up

While these are the trends that will carry us into 2021, no crystal ball will predict everything the L&D space will experience in the coming year. The best thing to do for decision-makers is to be updated and understand the current trends, how they affect the business and the employees, and commit to making positive changes.

In addition to the trends the report has touched on, there are others emerging trends to note. For example AR and AI-powered adaptive learning.

Good news is that you are not alone in planning success for your organisation in 2021. We at I Train Consultants have 13+ years of experience in redefining L&D for organisation with changing times. Get in touch with us for a quick conversation.

Happy Learning.

Source: https://business.udemy.com/resources/2021-workplace-learning-trends-report/