Jane Hart, author of The Social Learning Handbook,  has updated her excellent “State of Learning in the Workplace today” and if you work in the training sector then get yourself a cuppa have a good read – it’s well worth your time.

 In the article Jane lists 20 reasons that Learning & Development departments need to change together with some useful links if you’d like to delve deeper into any of the points raised. She goes on to list the following as the way forward for Learning and Development:

Learning and Development – The Way Forward

1. It needs to re-focus its activities, and provide a broader role in the organisation, e.g. supporting
   1. Formal learning – where this is the most appropriate solution
   2. Performance improvement – to help people do their jobs (better)
   3. Continuous (social) learning – to help people learn from one another AS they do their jobs
2. It needs to provide both pro-active and re-active support
3. It needs to think differently about tools and systems.
4. It needs to take a different approach to its work with people in the organisation
5. L&D professionals will themselves need a range of new skills

Head over to the Centre for Learning and Performance Technologies to read the full article – it’s been updated again within the last few days. You’ll find lots of other really useful content there.