September is an exciting time: the new training year begins! That places heavy demands on both company managers and trainees: Other tasks are left undone, and important basic knowledge can quickly be forgotten. Digital support can relieve you and the trainees in the first few weeks. How this works with "Blended Onboarding" is explained in this article using an example.
Onboarding new colleagues is always a challenge: onboarding means shifting focus away from day-to-day business and toward knowledge transfer and support. For trainees who start at companies in September, the process is often even more intensive. Here, supervisors, team leaders, and HR managers have to start even further back in the learning process than with experienced professionals.
The challenge: Convey a lot of knowledge in the shortest possible time
The goals of the first few weeks with the new trainees are clear:
Communicate the process for the next 2 to 3 years clearly
Convey the necessary basic knowledge about the company and important processes
Ensure getting to know each other so the trainees are integrated quickly
... and still maintain a productive day-to-day work routine.
Taken together, all of this is a major time burden for those responsible — and a cognitive challenge for the trainees, who have to absorb a lot of knowledge in a short time: from occupational safety and handling new tools to the names of many new people, and even the especially important operation of the coffee machine! 😀
Those responsible and supervisors must not only convey all this knowledge: the trainees also need to understand it, process it, and have it available at all times. Only then does a smooth day-to-day work routine become possible quickly.
Especially in the first few weeks, it becomes clear how quickly trainees feel confident and can contribute productively. A structured onboarding process reduces overload, strengthens motivation, and prevents important basic knowledge from being lost or having to be explained multiple times.
Solution approach: digitally supported onboarding for trainees
For onboarding to succeed quickly and sustainably, it is important that the learning process fits the target group. To do this, you need to know your target group well: The biggest difference between experienced new employees and trainees is often age: The average age of trainees is around 20. That means trainees are largely part of "Generation Z".
What characterizes trainees of Generation Z?
Digital Natives: Growing up with digital technologies.
Natural use of smartphones and tablets.
Skilled in handling digitally / online available knowledge.
tendency to reject print media such as books and magazines
Communication via smartphones, clouds, apps, and social networks
Use these characteristics and habits for you! From them, you can directly derive what onboarding for young trainees should look like so that it is effective and motivating:
This is how you should design onboarding for trainees
Focus on digital media, little print media such as traditional manuals
Knowledge available at all times (learning on demand)
Knowledge is flexibly available on mobile devices, for example a smartphone or tablet
Appropriate devices at the workplace are directly available
Flexible time allocation for learning directly at the workplace, alternatively set up learning times
Offer direct exchange with fellow trainees and contact with the trainers (Interesting: Study by AUBI-Plus on the wishes of trainees for e-learning)
All of these points are fulfilled by a new learning concept called "Blended Onboarding".
Onboarding trainees with digital support using "Blended Onboarding"
You are certainly familiar with the term "Blended Learning" from the field of continuing education: the combination of online and face-to-face learning. "Blended Onboarding" is directly based on this: the combination of learning content in an online course with personal live sessions.
Live sessions + online course = Blended Onboarding
Onboarding according to the "Blended Onboarding" concept supports all the goals for the first few weeks and matches the habits and expectations of young trainees.
Practice: Example online course for onboarding trainees
The following shows an online course on the blink.it learning platform, with which the "Blended Onboarding" concept was developed. The course certainly does not fit every training occupation, but it gives you an initial idea for practical implementation:
Example of an accompanying online course for trainees in the first days/weeks.
Clear structures in the onboarding course
The course is set up so that the content is automatically released one after another. This makes the online course more manageable for you and the trainees and adds more structure. Recommendation: Plan the content by week if you have more than just a few basic pieces of content (Week 1: All content on topic 1 — Week 2: All content on topic 2, etc.) and create an onboarding plan using the guide "Blended Onboarding in Companies".
Quick integration through Q&A sessions
To turn the online course into a Blended Onboarding program, also schedule Q&A sessions for topics where questions are likely to arise, or where additional personal support makes sense. In these cases, the online content serves as preparation so that the Q&A sessions run productively. Recommendation: Schedule at least a 15-minute Q&A session every day. Plan Q&A sessions with different contacts and colleagues to strengthen the integration of the trainees.
"Recycling" in the online course saves time!
In addition, on the blink.it learning platform you can "recycle" content: Some information is certainly not only important for trainees, but also for other new employees, interns, dual-study students, and others. For example, safety topics or site maps. Recommendation: Create a basic course as a template that contains all the content important for all new starters. Copy this basic course and add specific content. This saves you additional time and ensures that everyone in the company receives the same information. Only the welcome video should be created individually for each new starter by you or the supervisor — this increases engagement from the very beginning. The easiest way is to create videos with a smartphone.
Conclusion: Save time and nerves when onboarding trainees
Successful onboarding of trainees combines digital structure with personal support, thus creating a confident start into working life.
Blended Onboarding makes it possible to provide basic knowledge flexibly and in reusable form, while live sessions create space for questions, exchange, and integration. This creates a clearly structured learning process that both relieves those responsible and gives trainees orientation.
Using digital learning formats in a targeted way creates transparency, commitment, and motivation from the very beginning and lays the foundation for successful training.
Frequently Asked Questions and Answers
What is Blended Onboarding in trainee onboarding?
Blended Onboarding combines digital learning content in an online course with personal live sessions. Trainees work through basic knowledge flexibly at their own pace and use shared appointments for questions, exchange, and deeper learning. This creates a structured yet personal onboarding process.
Why is onboarding trainees particularly challenging?
Trainees have to absorb a great deal of new knowledge in a short time, from company processes and tools to social structures within the team. At the same time, companies have to maintain day-to-day operations. Without a clear structure, this can quickly lead to overload and repeated explanations.
How should digital onboarding for trainees be structured?
Effective onboarding for trainees relies on a clear structure, small learning units, and digital availability. Content should be accessible on mobile devices, released step by step, and supplemented by regular exchange formats such as Q&A sessions. This keeps the learning process clear and practical.
Why is e-learning particularly suitable for onboarding trainees?
Trainees usually belong to Generation Z and are accustomed to digital media. E-learning allows them to work through content flexibly, on the move, and at their own pace. At the same time, information can be repeated at any time, which increases learning success and confidence in day-to-day work.
How does an online course in onboarding save time for companies?
Content created once can be used again and again, for example for new trainees or other new employees. Standard knowledge does not have to be explained repeatedly, but is available centrally. Those responsible can therefore focus more on individual support and integration.
Updated on 02/26/2026
