Corporate distance learning: the advantages of e-Learning

Olena Zolotaryova – Head of the training and staff development department of the outsourcing contact center Global Bilgi, spoke about modern corporate training.

What is corporate training with e-Learning?

In the realm of modern business, corporate training has evolved with the advent of e-Learning. The process of electronic learning via the Internet has revolutionized the traditional approach to education that relied heavily on computer technologies for the past two decades. With the emergence of vast archives presented on machine-readable media, the concept of utilizing this material for education has gained momentum. The global impact of the Internet has provided unprecedented opportunities to transfer the required amount of data across the globe, communicate seamlessly with other network users online, and disseminate information via internet sites to make it accessible to all. As a result, e-Learning has become an indispensable tool for businesses to deliver effective corporate training to their employees.

Online learning opportunities have become increasingly popular among businesses across the globe. This trend has been further accelerated by the growing prevalence of hybrid work arrangements adopted by companies worldwide. Detached corporate training has gained traction as employees attend offline training programs less frequently and rely more on digital technologies, such as massive online courses, to enhance their professional skills. As a result, businesses are increasingly investing in online training programs to keep up with the changing demands of the workforce and ensure their employees stay skilled and up-to-date with the latest industry trends.

Staff training in Ukraine and abroad

In today’s rapidly evolving business landscape, corporate training has become a critical component for staying competitive and keeping employees skilled and knowledgeable. Massive online courses have emerged as a popular medium for delivering training and education, with specialized resources now available for various disciplines such as technology, business, management, and sales. In Western countries, the trend of machine learning has transformed the training landscape, enabling personalized recommendations and highly interactive formats. Consequently, there is a growing demand for corporate training platforms to cater to this need.

However, in contrast to Western education systems, the Ukrainian and Russian languages are underserved when it comes to educational resources. This lack of access to quality training resources has created a small, but rapidly growing Ukrainian-language online education market. While a few startups have emerged to fill this gap, they face significant challenges in a market that is still largely uneducated and inert. As such, there is a need for educational initiatives and promotion to popularize online learning and drive the growth of the corporate training industry in the region.

Role of corporate training in business success

Employers no longer measure the quality of a worker’s skillset solely based on their university educational background. The modern workforce demands a complex system of interconnecting qualities such as intelligence, motivation, experience, and education. The latter, in particular, has become a pressing issue for employers. In contrast to 10-15 years ago, when having a higher education was sufficient for many employers, specialized courses and training have now become critical tools for the professional development of employees.

The rapid pace of technological advancement and changing market demands means that traditional education alone is no longer enough to keep up with the dynamic nature of the workforce. Employers need workers with the right combination of skills and knowledge to navigate complex business challenges and stay competitive. As a result, corporate training has become an essential component for companies to invest in their employees’ development and ensure they remain up-to-date with the latest industry trends.

Currently, there is increasing interest in the availability of additional education among employees, and corporate training is gaining new importance. This interest is associated with the increasing complexity of business processes aimed at improving efficiency. It increases the number of functional components in the duties of employees. For this reason, additional courses and trainings are simply necessary today.

Due to the fact that many people work “28 hours” a day, distance (electronic) learning is becoming more and more popular: there are professional retraining courses, English language training, marketing and sales training, administrative management, competency development courses, etc.

It is also worth noting that the degree of trust in such training has increased significantly recently.
Distance courses and trainings are conducted by top managers of the largest companies, business consultants and industry specialists. That is why additional education, in particular, “virtual”, is an inseparable (part/characteristic) and even a necessary component of education in general.

The main advantages and disadvantages of E-Learning:

• Freedom of access – the student has the opportunity to access electronic courses via the Internet from any place where there is access to the global information network.
• Competent, high-quality education – courses are created with the participation of a whole team of specialists, which makes e-Learning a mature and high-quality education.
• Cost-effectiveness – in e-learning, the process of delivering education includes only the exchange of information via the Internet without the student’s costs for the purchase of educational and methodological literature.
• The possibility of dividing the content of the electronic course into modules – small blocks of information allow you to make the study of the subject more flexible and facilitate the search for the necessary materials.
• Flexibility of the training schedule – the student chooses the duration and sequence of studying the materials himself, fully adapting the entire training process to his capabilities and needs.
• The possibility of learning at the workplace – students have the opportunity to get an education without breaking away from work (if available), as well as at home, on the road using the mobile Internet.
• Ability to evolve with the times – users of e-courses: both teachers and students develop their skills and knowledge according to the latest modern technologies and standards. E-courses also allow timely and efficient updating of educational materials.
• The opportunity to study according to an individual plan, according to one’s own needs and capabilities.

Possible difficulties of remote corporate training

• Legal problems related to the protection of intellectual property;
• Financial related to the costs of preparing electronic courses and updating them;
• Lack of direct face-to-face communication between students and the teacher. And when there is no person nearby who could emotionally color the knowledge, this is a significant disadvantage for the learning process. It is difficult to create a creative atmosphere;
• High requirements for the formulation of the training task, administration of the process, the complexity of the motivation of the students;
• The need for a number of individual and psychological conditions. Distance learning requires strict self-discipline, the result of which directly depends on the independence and consciousness of students;

E-learning in our company

Global Bilgi has developed educational programs for Support employees and Team Leaders. These programs allow you to get systematized in-depth knowledge of one of the specialties. The programs are developed on the basis of the Courcera resource and take from 8 months to 1 year. At this time, the specializations Data Scientist, Basic Management and Project Management&Leadership, Advanced Management&Leadership have been successfully launched. IT, Human Resources Management, and Finance Management programs will be launched soon. Video courses have also been developed for the agents of each project, which greatly facilitate the assimilation of information and speed up the training process for both new employees and already working agents.