What You Need to Know About Adult Learning

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April 06, 2020
Author: Lorman Education

Providing your employees with opportunities to advance their careers and further their education is a smart way to attract the best talent. However, since company resources are often limited, finding an optimal solution to offer advanced training to existing and new employees is a challenge most managers and business owners face.

Attending in-person classes after hours poses challenges for employees who have families to look after and a full-time job to focus on. That's when the company needs to step in and provide as much support as possible. Thanks to the development of digital learning, busy employees can now pursue advanced education despite having a hectic schedule.

business man sitting at table working on laptop

Digital Learning and Its Impact on Adult Learners

Not long ago, adult learners would need to search for available classes at a local university to physically attend. This limited their choices to a great extent; people often want to sign up for a good program at a reputable university but cannot attend because of the distance.

Things have completely changed with the advent of digital learning. Using technology, learners are now able to learn from anywhere they have an internet connection.

Collaboration & Social Learning

One of the most common questions that come to mind when discussing digital learning is: "Will I be on my own the entire time?". The answer: No.

Online platforms are still able to provide an interactive learning environment where learners can easily collaborate with each other. In fact, group assignments are part of the curriculum of many online programs dedicated to adult learning.

In turn, employees will take these learned collaboration skills and apply them back at work.

woman using laptop on white table with books scattered around

Learning On-Demand

Adult learning has become more accessible and affordable thanks to the technologies that empower it. Most trainings and certifications can be completed online in a flexible manner.

Hardworking employees no longer must choose between spending time with their families and advancing their careers. The ability to learn over morning coffee, on a lunch break, or late in the evening has given learners a lot of freedom to advance.

This flexibility has made it possible for so many adult learners to go back to school despite having a hectic schedule.


Expand Employees’ and Your Company’s Skill Set

Investing in continuing education is investing in the company's future. Failing to give your employees the resources they need to grow will only hurt your company in the long run,

For example, it's estimated that about 62% of IT professionals fund their advanced education using their own financial resources. Like others, IT is a fast-growing field and it's important for an organization to keep its workforce updated on the latest advances in technology.

man typing on laptop computer with notebook and cup of coffee

Remote Learning Is the Future of Education

According to Deloitte, about 70% of the workforce works remotely. With the development of Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality technologies, it's now possible to stay home and still feel like you are at the office when attending a virtual meeting.

Education is another field that makes the best use of such technologies. Most modern students are tech-savvy and they no longer face the feeling of isolation that is often associated with online learning.

Did you also know that as a result of too many stimulations today, our attention span has shortened remarkably? Research has shown that the average adult has an attention span of only 20 minutes. This makes digital learning a more ideal choice for adult learners since they can choose to stop learning whenever they can no longer concentrate. In a traditional classroom, that's impossible and the student still must go through the lecture even though their mind is elsewhere.

Lorman offers courses and resources for on-demand continuing education for professionals. Learn more about how you can utilize Lorman for your employee training program.

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