Re-imagining adult learning for the workforce of tomorrow, today

MANY enterprises and employees globally are prioritising learning and development (L&D) as we emerge from the pandemic. A McKinsey Global Survey on reskilling found 69 per cent of respondents indicating that their organisations do more skill building now than they did before.

The global pandemic has accelerated these trends and added a layer of urgency to the discussion. Singapore is no different, with the training and adult education (TAE) sector now tasked with the critical opportunity to strengthen employee skills and build workforce resilience for the long run. Thankfully, our TAE sector has strong foundations in place. Last year, an estimated 540,000 Singaporeans benefited from initiatives supported by SkillsFuture Singapore - 40,000 more than in 2019. Some 14,000 enterprises benefited from these programmes last year too. Indeed, Covid-19 has catalysed innovation and accelerated a trend towards distributed and remote working. It was also an opportune moment for us at the Institute for Adult Learning (IAL) who have long advocated for a hybrid adult learning model.

Responsible for the development of TAE professionals who will go on to deliver skills training programmes across industry sectors here, IAL believes in enhanced application of digital technology to broaden pedagogical boundaries for greater learning innovation. This will ultimately improve the outcomes of adult learning courses for employees and employers. But as demand for skills training programmes increases, the shift towards remote working will also transform the way adult learning is conducted beyond the pandemic.

This is especially true as remote working is here to stay. A recent Future of Jobs report by the World Economic Forum revealed that 84 per cent of employers will digitalise working processes, with the potential to move 44 per cent of their workforce to operate remotely in the future. Last year, IAL swiftly provided training and resources to educators who had to re-look traditional aspects of training delivery, from the design of online activities, to developing solutions that cater for disparate learning experiences.

We worked to deepen learner engagement journeys through live content and interactive collaboration, with digital thinking and tools at the core. Virtual learning during the pandemic demonstrated that it was less disruptive and more convenient than it was perceived to be. This marked a new chapter for adult education as the virtual learning model was found to be sector-agnostic, proving itself viable even for skills-based training in sectors such as food and beverage, retail and security, for example.

EVER-CHANGING BUSINESS SCENARIOS

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L&D opportunities at the workplace have become more accessible and equitable for employees, with 76 per cent of adult educators surveyed in IAL's study on Online Learning: The New Norm in a Post-Covid-19 World expecting future enrolment in online skills training programmes to rise in Singapore. Organisations are increasingly looking to develop capability-building initiatives, given ever-changing business scenarios. A digital-first approach to adult learning has yielded greater financial savings for enterprises - a key incentive for employers to engage their workforce and integrate workplace learning strategies as part of business planning.

Skill-building needs, combined with open-mindedness towards new learning models, are now imperative to business sustainability as emerging digital technology such as machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) accelerates the transformation of work.

And in Singapore, the TAE community has begun to draw innovative modalities for workforce reskilling and upskilling in response to the new challenges. After all, learning for learning's sake is no longer enough, and the pandemic has taught us many lessons on this. IAL's vision for lifelong learning has been reshaped by Covid-19 and our work to incorporate innovation to augment workforce resilience gains new importance. As Singapore postures towards a Covid-19 endemic reality, it is clear that digitalisation is taking root not only at the point of training delivery, but is increasingly well integrated into various touch points along work processes too.

For instance, VisionarySchoolmen's (VSM) education platform made a breakthrough prototype that marries AI analytics across video, facial and voice platforms to facilitate learners' assessment. First piloted in Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) in 2019, VSM developed a platform that can place each learner in immersive video-based scenarios commonly faced by TTSH staff. Learners are tested with scenarios such as an "angry next of kin" where they are expected to apply newly learnt communications skills. Their tone of voice, speech content and facial expressions are captured and fed into an AI-based rubric that grades the learner. Numerous organisations are trialling VSM's platform for their in-house training programmes - from frontline service training at Civil Service College to cabin crew training at Singapore Airlines.

As enterprises prepare for hybrid workplace models, skills-building modalities are changing too. It is important that our TAE professionals can continually upskill themselves, and keep up with ever-evolving industry and workplace needs. Through IAL's professional certification pathways for TAE professionals in Singapore, we work to guarantee the quality of our trainers and adult educators at the frontline of training delivery for multiple industries here.

From applying our human-centred pedagogy to embracing changing workplace models, the future of skills training and adult education is rooted in digitalisation. We must constantly re-imagine this digital future according to ever-evolving industry needs, and strengthen the TAE ecosystem in support of a future-ready workforce.

• The writer is executive director of the Institute for Adult Learning.