The past few months have highlighted the need for business and society to become more resilient and prepare for times of uncertainty. They’ve also presented an opportunity for long overdue change and much-needed innovation in learning. There will most likely be many more months of disruption throughout the world and as businesses return to “normal,” things may not just snap back to the old ways. Learning and Development will most likely remain quite virtual beyond 2020 into 2021.

To build resilience for a future-proof Learning and Development function and to form new and improved learning habits, some organisations may need to rethink or re-imagine learning. As learning leaders, there’s never been a better opportunity to help others learn and grow in a world that’s changed forever. And while digital skills are important, human skills like resilience, adaptability, innovation, and empathy are more important than ever!

It is critical that L&D executives identify the critical skills that workforces will require now (and in the immediate future) and motivate employees to learn those skills (or figure out how to acquire them externally) and prove that their learning environments are returning value.