With the increasing digitization of work, the demands on trainers and coaches are changing. My assumption: this trend will continue in the next 5-10 years. The world of work 4.0 will be characterized by rapid innovation cycles, flexible working conditions, and ongoing training for employees. With this change, trainers, coaches, and other HR professionals are also facing new challenges. The Düsseldorf consulting firm metaBeratung surveyed 100 executives in its study "Human Resources in the Digital Transformation" about which qualities will be important for employees of the future.

Source: https://www.metaberatung.de/fileadmin/metaberatung-content/news/metaBeratung-Infografik-PM-Angst.pdf

A quick look at the graphic shows that trainers and coaches will still have a lot to do in the future. What is at the top of the list? The "classic" training topics: change readiness, flexibility, creativity, and communication. What do these training occasions have in common? These topics cannot be changed overnight. (Note: If you know how that works, I would be very curious ;) )

These topics relate to changes in behavior, habits, and to some extent personality. Such changes require long-term support. In a one-day workshop or a weekend seminar, something can certainly be conveyed at the "knowledge level." However, sustainable changes only occur when what has been learned is also practiced 12 weeks later and transitions into new habits. Increasingly, clients want to know how trainers and coaches handle this transfer gap. A good answer can be online support for sustainable change. For this, you do not need to change much in your existing training offerings. With the blended learning format, you expand your in-person events with the appropriate online content. You offer this online content as online support for your course.

What must a trainer be able to do in the digitalized workplace?

The answer: inform, support, and accompany. I would like to share my vision with you: Learning content is easily accessible and adapted to the prior knowledge and needs of the learners. Learners study independently and support each other with the help of study groups and knowledge exchange. As a trainer, you provide participants with a selection of online content, and the learners decide for themselves which content they would like to delve deeper into. During in-person meetings, you focus on the obstacles that hinder practical transfer. Video content plays a special role for you in the support process. You have built a relationship with the participants during the in-person phase. With video messages from you, you address your participants personally and inform them about exercises and tasks. Your participants also capture knowledge, insights, and training experiences through video recordings.

That is why, as a Trainer 4.0, you will produce your own courses and videos in the future

Whether as a freelance trainer or as an in-house trainer in a company, in the future, you will produce training content yourself. What sounds like a lot of work at first is – with the right know-how and software support – not so bad. You bring your professional background to your topic. After all, you are already conveying your topics in the in-person events. You just need the online content. If you produce it yourself, you only need to pay attention to a few didactic and media technical aspects to achieve good results. If you are equipped with a program like PowerPoint, you can get started right away and create the online content for your online support. You can also design graphics with the program, which you incorporate into your video recordings. You make these recordings with your smartphone and an external microphone. What was previously labor-intensive and costly to produce can now be handled by programs on your laptop or tablet.

What changes have you experienced? Do you perhaps have a different perspective on this topic? What are you already producing yourself? Share your insights with us.

PS: The German Continuing Education Day (September 2016) is dedicated to the topic "Further Education 4.0." Perhaps there is an interesting event near you.