Dive Brief:

• Studies are showing that there has been a decline in the popularity of corporate learning vs. employee self-learning over the last few years, an issue that concerns some in the corporate learning leadership. David Vance, executive director for the Center for Talent Reporting, reports for Chief Learning Officer that this may not be a negative thing. 
• Vance points out that it is unrealistic to assume that all employee learning will take place within the four-walls of the organization. He points out that many companies encourage this through tuition assistance programs. An employee who takes the initiative to take on more learning is highly engaged.
• In terms of formal internal learning, Vance advises that this must be focused on job-related topics that enhance employee productivity and performance.

Dive Insight:

For most companies, investing in corporate training is a huge investment. Most recent studies put this cost at around $70 billion in 2016. Therefore, when learning and development teams see employees choosing to learn outside of the organization, it's natural for them to worry about the future of this effort.

Leaders need to see this in a different light. If employees are actively learning, they are getting better in their jobs and this impacts the bottom line. It means they are engaged and committed to their careers. Corporate training, then, can be used to train employees on the deeper aspects of their industry and job tasks. Corporate universities should not force content on employees, but rather make it easy for them to access this information in a more on-demand model. This is sensible given the learning style and time challenges that many employees have.