New strategies for verifiable learning post-COVID

Have the impacts of COVID-19 changed the way you think about learning and professional development? In the world of online lectures and remote training solutions, the pitfalls of our approach to learning become glaringly clear. We do a lot of work with clients who have suffered from the impact of working with outdated tools which slow progress in their organizations and often cause more problems than they solve. Face-to-face training is no longer possible in many parts of the world, but the transition to remote training solutions can be tricky: not all learning management systems are created equal. Furthermore, simply having a learning management system does not automatically guarantee you’ll achieve your learning goals. 

We need to change our strategy for training and development to suit a changing workforce. Industry expert Jimmy McPhedran is committed to delivering a much-needed fresh approach to professional development. In April, Jimmy joined us for a webinar: “Gamification in eLearning: What is it and how can you use it?”, wherein he raised many interesting thoughts about how we use elements of gamification in our everyday lives. Jimmy brought his passion for getting rid of archaic ways of learning to a somewhat unexpected industry: accounting. 

Jimmy is the founder of  Padmore City, an avatar-based eLearning platform, head business partner, Ian Youngman, provided us with some insights into one of the latest challenges in accounting across Australia and New Zealand: changes to continuing professional development requirements. 

Adapting to Changing Industry Standards

As industries adapt to the remote working realities forced by COVID-19, many professionals are increasingly reliant upon remote solutions to replace face-to-face learning as part of their continuing professional development or CPD requirements. Convenient, varied and often cost-effective, remote learning has many benefits. However, in the context of mandatory CPD for professionals, remote learning solutions must qualify as formal/verifiable training hours in keeping with the requirements of the relevant professional body.

Different industry associations have different CPD requirements, so it is important to be clear about what precisely is required by each body. Where an industry association requires a component of hours completed to be “Formal” or “Verifiable”, this often requires the CPD hours to have an element of recorded completion/attendance to prove the learner engaged with the learning solution. With the huge array of remote learning solutions on offer, it is easy to get confused about what training meets these requirements and what falls short.  

This rules out some of those LinkedIn sessions then, even if they are presented by a renowned industry expert. It’s easy to see how such a change to the industry standards causes confusion. Many finance trainees are asking: Why does all this learning suddenly not count anymore? 

Ian Youngman from Padmore City weighs in on the confusion: “Many professionals do not understand that listening to a recorded Webinar, or even listening to a recording of a live Webinar, will not count as verifiable CPD unless there is some element that provides evidence of completion; for example an assessment. This means that someone who thinks they are sitting on 40 hours of training may only have completed 15-20 hours of verifiable CPD according to their own CPD standards. Unfortunately, this scenario is very common this year”.

New and Engaging Learning Environments

Training solutions like Padmore City, a gamified, a ‘Sim-City’ themed training environment for taxation, accounting, superannuation, and business soft skills, meet the formal/verifiable requirement. This is because Padmore City integrates ongoing assessment into the environment, whereas Webinar recordings, for example, do not. 

Importantly, just because training is recorded and has assessment, doesn’t necessarily mean it will cover the requirements of CPD training. Check with the relevant professional body for your industry to gain a better understanding of what counts as accredited, verifiable training. 

Firstly, make sure that you check the details around formal/verifiable training with the professional body for your industry. Then, compare your training – and planned training – to the requirements set forth for your industry. Finally, make sure you keep detailed records as you complete your training. A learning management system is a great tool to create training programs relevant to your industry and organization, as well as automate tracking towards your goals in real-time. Similarly, many organizations benefit from using a learning management system to track training progress against their goals for new starters and ongoing professional development. 

Dynamic Learning Management Systems

While you’re thinking about adapting to change in your industry, set yourself up for success with key tools to achieve your goals. Shifting to a proactive strategy for learning and development takes the “pain” out of training. A learning management system streamlines your organization’s training process. Gain insight on key training metrics with a high-level snapshot of how your trainees are progressing, empowering you with data for decision making, and more time to spend putting your goals into action. 

To learn more about Scout Learning, reach out to us at info@scouttalent.com.au and one of our Learning Specialists will happily demonstrate our software to you. You can also learn more about Padmore City by reaching out to enquiries@padmorecity.com.