Training Industry Magazine - Winter 2015 - (Page 54)

CLOSING D E A L S CONTENT-RICH PROGRAMS MEET TALENT-CENTRIC SOLUTIONS: THE LEARNING AGE - JERRY NINE The workforce is going to shift in the years ahead, and it's important for organizations to understand and prepare for how this will affect their businesses. Driving this transition is the projected global shortage of 85 million skilled workers by the year 2020. In contrast, there are 200 million unemployed worldwide and the world population is edging ever closer to eight billion. Realistically, we're not facing a labor crisis, but more of a learning crisis. While skilled workers will be sparse, workers will not. There will still be a lot of potential talent, and through an emphasis on learning, organizations will be able to battle the skills shortage by developing their workforces. This learning crisis is forcing a fundamental shift in the way training and learning will be delivered and consumed. We are moving from the Information Age to the new Learning Age - an era that focuses on developing employees to their fullest potential through learning. It's an age that demands a new learningcentric approach to developing talent. In order to spur innovation and avert the learning crisis, companies must adjust to the Learning Age. In the Learning Age, success, velocity and market leadership will be defined by very different factors than they were in the past. The ability for organizations to rapidly acquire and apply new knowledge and skills that ensure forward 54 motion and success will be the critical factor in market leadership. The velocity in business that's needed to thrive in today's fast-moving, global business environment is only achieved through pervasive learning. Market leadership is earned and sustained through this kind of workforce adaptability. As the market for learning content and solutions that optimize organizations' performance is expected to grow significantly in the coming years, there is increasing demand for a platform that goes beyond basic employee management to deliver learningcentric talent expansion. A unified and comprehensive mindset is needed, being both a system of engagement and a system of record. In an effort to meet that demand and help our customers tackle the demands of the Learning Age, Skillsoft has acquired SumTotal Systems. Through the acquisition, we are positioned to deliver enduring solutions that create sustainable business advantages for our customers in the Learning Age. Our combined companies' vision is to bring learning content together in meaningful ways and to unlock the potential in workforces. With the combination of content-rich learning programs and talent-centric solutions, organizations are able to fully tap into their employees' potential and create an environment that caters to the talent development of employees, resulting in overall success for the business. BIG PROBLEMS NEED BOLD SOLUTIONS. SumTotal will operate as a strategic business unit within Skillsoft, adding a new dimension to our collection of resources and content for learning and development professionals. Together, we offer a comprehensive, contentrich solution that brings together our deep expertise in learning assets, methodologies and rich systems of engagement with SumTotal's full suite of highly scalable, unified talent expansion solutions. Big problems need bold solutions. We're heading toward an era where learning will define organizations' success on a global scale more than ever before. Human potential is not - and will never be - in short supply, so it's imperative that organizations take the necessary steps to unlock their workers' potential before they find themselves in the midst of the skills shortage. Jerry Nine is chief operating officer for Skillsoft. Email Jerry. http://blogs.skillsoft.com/learning-re-imagined/2014/10/its-official-skillsoft-and-sumtotal-come-together.html http://www.skillsoft.com/future/ http://www.skillsoft.com/future/ http://www.skillsoft.com/about/press_room/press_releases/October_01_14_Acquisition.asp http://www.skillsoft.com/online-learning-resources/video_other.asp?f=Chuck-and-Jerry.mp4

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Training Industry Magazine - Winter 2015

Tracking Trends
Table of Contents
Guest Editor: Training Trends across the Spectrum
From Training to Continuous Learning in the Workplace
Integrating Accommodations for Learning Disabilities into Training
Emerging Learning Technology Trends
The Business Potential of Cloud-based Learning
A New Role for Instructional Design
Social Motivation: The Key to Adult Learning ROI
Key Trends for 2015: Transforming the Training Function
Bite-sized Learning Turns Less into More
How C-level Executives View Corporate Training
Learning Content Modernization: Why, What and How
Casebook: Boy Scouts of America: Reimagining the Learning Experience
Communities of Practice: The Future of Workplace Learning
VUCU Leadership in Today's Muligenerational Workplace
It's All About Climate Change
Closing Deals
Company News
What's Online
Training Talk

Training Industry Magazine - Winter 2015