DEVELOPMENT their advancement in their careers by Gen Z-ers . They have a natural desire to learn and see it as a perquisite , not a chore . Rather than “ sending someone to training ,” they will actively seek those opportunities .
• If we satisfy the needs of the youngest employees , those born after 1996 , who consider robust learning and development as a non-negotiable workplace need , you will likely satisfy the older generations as well , who are less likely to speak up and ask for what they want .
• The old methods of delivering training will not satisfy the needs of younger people . Learning will need to be more like a video game and less like a traditional classroom . The “ spray and pray ” method used in the past , where attendees drank from a firehose and employers prayed that the learning would transfer to their daily performance , will no longer get the job done .
Perhaps most surprising in many of the reports and studies on education for Generation Z is that they would prefer it to be in person . This is the group of young people who were most impacted by the COVID shutdowns and by their own admission , say they did not learn as well in the virtual environment . They also cite a lack of social skills as one of their biggest workplace challenges , which supports the notion that to achieve the maximum value , much training and education will need to be delivered in person .
Generation Z has a healthy skepticism about what they are told . They want to see the action that ’ s taken that supports what ’ s being said to them about the possibilities for advancement . They will quickly connect the dots between learning more and achieving more – unless those dots fail to come into view .
Training and education in this new world of work will have to be more deliberate and intentional than ever before . Especially tricky will be the balancing act employers will have to achieve to have flexible
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