Global e-Learning continues to grow exponentially; is your organization using it to grow exponentially too?

In a world where you can learn virtually any subject you choose, complete a college or Masters’ degree, study for a realtor license, a financial advisor certification or even an X-ray technician, it is not surprising to learn that the global e-learning market was a whopping $190 billion in 2018. And it is predicted to reach $325 billion by 2025. (See more interesting details about the “Top E-Learning Statistics for 2019” from our friends at eLearningIndustry.com.)

E-learning for technology products and solutions is a much more natural application than, let’s say, learning to make a soufflé. You can read all you want about this subject, but without the hands-on experience of separating egg whites from yolk, preparing the béchamel sauce, and mastering the cooking time so it does not deflate before serving—let’s just say that making a perfect soufflé requires hands-on instruction!

Today, a growing percentage of technology is software-defined and IT management is virtually all “dashboard-based.” Having your hands physically on bare metal has become less of a necessity and/or occurrence, which means being trained on a virtual machine is very close if not identical to a real-life work environment.

Within the IT industry, there is the convergence of many factors that make e-learning an ideal approach to skill development and knowledge refreshes:

The pace of technological change: We are in a period of time when new technology is being introduced almost weekly, whether that be new releases of existing products or new breakthrough solutions hitting the market. Keeping up can be a challenge.
Overlapping knowledge requirements within the IT department: It’s virtually impossible to have a highly functioning IT department with completely siloed components. That means there are IT subjects that some individuals may need only a cursory knowledge of, while others require in-depth training and understanding.
Technology is embedded in all areas of the business: It was not long ago that IT professionals were asking for a “seat at the table” in order to become a proactive contributor to an organization’s future. Today, IT is often at the head of the table, listening to business units’ asks and coming up with technology solutions.
Demand in IT comes from every angle: Time has never been more of a precious commodity for the IT department (see previous bullet) as it is today. The idea of taking days or even hours out of an IT practitioner’s week for training purposes is always a daunting proposition.

“Sharpening the sword” with HPE Digital Learner

HPE Education Services has introduced a number of program enhancements to the Digital E-Learning Platform in response to these converging factors in the IT industry.

“Micro-Lessons” on Demand 24 x 7 x 365: In addition to learning about new solutions and releases, IT practitioners often have an immediate need to learn a very specific subject. HPE currently has hundreds of micro-lessons (such as how to remove an installed blade) that can be consumed on demand at any time, day or night.

Interactive Hands-on Labs: Learners can access actual equipment and solutions set up in HPE facilities around the world, established just for this purpose. “Hands-on” learning is completely realistic given most technologies’ cloud-based dashboard or management portals.

“Boosts” to Enhance Retention: Once learners complete an online course, they receive a mini-challenge (boost) with 1 – 2 questions to challenge their retention of the original materials and increase the longevity of the learning experience.

Individual Digital Learner subscriptions: Just announced this summer (2019), organizations with one or more IT professionals now have the option of procuring individual Digital Learning Platform subscriptions, rather than a Digital Learner Enterprise subscription which accommodate up to 20 user seats.

HPE Digital Learner can assist your organization in keeping up with digital skills development by accelerating the digital maturity of your existing workforce, with better access to more effective learning experiences. This includes guided learner paths, incentives, reporting, mentoring and metrics. The results of this new approach include:

Accelerated workforce learning with access to learning at point of need and in time intervals that accommodate your team’s schedule
Increased access to meaningful learning for your teams
Skills development for more people in your organization, at the level of detail required for their position
Skills development delivered with less cost and disruption to your business