The director of learning is a new role in business, responsible for designing training programs and developing company leadership. A strong background in human resources, technology, or business administration is necessary, as well as interpersonal skills and an understanding of new technologies. The use of social media and on-demand learning is becoming more prevalent, but basic people skills remain essential.
The role of director of learning is a relatively new role in the business world. As such, the requirements and training to become a director of learning are still evolving in the workplace. A person who assumes this position will likely become responsible for instituting and designing training programs, developing company leadership, and acquiring capital investments that facilitate learning, such as training equipment. To become a director of learning, you will likely need a strong background in at least one of the following disciplines: human resources, technology, business strategy or business administration. A basic orientation to being an encouraging person would be considered valuable in this field.
Specific educational areas that would prepare you for this role could include degree programs in organization and industrial psychology, human resource management, and business administration. This career is also suitable for an interdisciplinary career; therefore, a minor degree along with your degree in one of these areas could be beneficial. As this position is geared towards intensive personal interaction, a person who enjoys interpersonal relationships would be a good fit. Understanding how to motivate people and how to respond to employee fears that can arise when employees are tasked with learning to use new technologies is a desirable skill for this career. To prepare to become a director of learning, consider seeking out and gaining a solid understanding of the competitive challenges in recruiting and training talent.
Workforce demographics are changing as the first baboomers begin to retire and younger workers begin to replace them. Younger workers have a different approach to learning than older workers in general. These younger workers expect new technologies to be used for training purposes. A director of learning will need to employ the latest technological methods to teach this generation of workers. Therefore, a director of learning must be adept at using new instructional technologies.
To become a director of learning, you must be flexible. You will likely be expected to embrace the latest social and technological developments in self-paced training. For example, instead of older methods that relied heavily on textbooks and programmed learning modules, a learning director can use an on-demand learning format or support forums or other social media tools that a user can customize accordingly. with your schedule and needs. Some in this profession advocate retiring the classroom model of instruction and mining the training potential available on social media. Regardless of changing demographics and changing technology, however, basic people skills remain essential if you want to become a director of learning.
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