Distance Learning (DL) is one of the sectors most affected by investments in digital technologies. The objectives concern the improvement of the learner’s experience through interaction, making the training more pleasant, immediate and efficient.
Also 2020 will be affected by strong technological investments and, compared to 2019, the main reason lies in the entry into employment of the people belonging to Generation Z.
GEN Z AND LABOUR MARKET
Gen Z are those born between 1995 and 2010. They need to be taken into account because, by 2020, they will represent 20% of the total workforce. For this reason, it is easy to understand how the world of education, and consequently the elearning platforms, need to take into consideration the peculiarities of these workers to offer unique and effective experiences.
The members of Generation Z have been defined as the most diversified generation in history and, for this reason, several researches have been carried out to identify the distinctive features of the members of Gen Z:
- Search for authenticity: for Gen Z, the fundamental point is not to define oneself through a single stereotype, but rather to experiment with different ways of being oneself and shaping one's identity over time;
- Belonging to a community: they recognize the advantage of virtual groups, which are created based on passions or interests and not on the basis of the economic or educational background. Many of them are part of several groups and to a greater extent than other generations;
- Propensity for dialogue: most of them believe that, through a dialogue with institutions and other generations, a better world can be built;
- Realism: the last trait typical of this generation is being realistic, pragmatic and analytical. For 65% of Gen Z it is particularly important to know what is happening around them and to have control over it. This generation of "self-learners" is also more likely to learn through online training than through the traditional learning methods.
From the description it emerges how distance learning and the use of LMS software are crucial to capture the attention of this new category of workers.
ELEARNING PLATFORMS AND GEN Z
Let us briefly examine some of the essential features that all the elearning platforms will need to have in order to be “tailored” to Gen Z:
- Authenticity first: the training scenarios will have to be created with external speakers for seminars and workshops (formal training), allowing Gen Z to transfer their personality into the online training activities;
- Collaboration and competitiveness: Serious Games will become of fundamental importance for the corporate strategy, creating a spirit of healthy and virtuous competition within the organizations. This approach is able not only to strengthen users' involvement, but also to improve the overall ROI of the training, as users compete to overcome the benchmarks established by other colleagues.
Globally, the technologies that Gen-Z requires from their employers include:
- Social media;
- Wearable devices;
- Virtual reality.
In the current scenario of business training, the level of personalization of an employee’s training programme can be the starting or breaking point between the conservation and the loss of talent. The active participation of the employees (particularly those of Generation Z) to the development of these training programmes helps the organizations to exploit and understand the skills they already have and the ones they still need to improve.
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