Training Trends Suggest Pandemic Changes Are Permanent
by Bob Shively, Enerdynamics President and Lead Facilitator
The training industry was rocked by the COVID shutdown in early 2020. Initially training was suspended as companies grappled to understand the impact and longevity of the pandemic. By mid-summer, many companies realized that putting employees in a close-contact classroom setting was not going to happen for a while. They scrambled to salvage training programs by converting to virtual-live or online on-demand classes.
As companies now have the option to restart classroom training, it is interesting to see how the industry has responded. Training Magazine performs an annual training industry study, which is helpful to track industry trends. The 2022 report, conducted in April through July 2022, was just released and provides a snapshot of what has changed in the last two years. Here are some conclusions that industry professionals may find interesting.
1. Total training expenditures continue to increase: Total training expenditures in the U.S. are estimated to have exceeded $100 billion for the first time ever. Budgeted expenditures increased by 10% over 2021.
2. Expected training-related purchases will largely focus on online and virtual delivery: The three largest categories of expected purchases of training products and services were learning management systems, authoring tools/systems, and performance support/on-demand learning tools and systems.
3.Training will continue to include many of the delivery methods used during the pandemic: 47% of respondents expect to return to some classroom training while maintaining some of the remote learning instituted during the pandemic while 25% expect to maintain the remote learning instituted. Only 8% expect to return to classroom learning as usual.
4. Virtual and online will continue to make up a significant percent of training hours: 35% of training hours were delivered via online or computer-based training, 33% were delivered as virtual-live, and 24% were delivered by a live classroom instructor. 
5. Outsourcing will continue to be an important part of training delivery: 63% of companies do some or all outsourcing of instruction/facilitation while 47% do some or all outsourcing of custom content development.
Clearly, developments that occurred during the pandemic are a permanent evolution, not a temporary adjustment. Training options have expanded significantly, and interestingly the training industry has emerged stronger than prior to 2020. Training professionals should consider the various delivery options to find the right mix for their employees and management needs.
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Enerdynamics offers a diverse curriculum of electricity and natural gas industry training products that can be delivered virtual-live, online on-demand, or in the classroom. The Enerdynamics team has spent more than 20 years growing and continually updating its diverse menu of energy industry training products. Contact us at info@enerdynamics.com or 866-876-5432 ext. 700.
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