Continuing education only unfolds its value when employees actually apply new knowledge in their daily work. This is precisely where learning transfer comes in: It bridges the gap between learning and doing. With targeted support beyond the actual seminar, short learning impulses, and concrete practical tasks, this transfer can be supported sustainably. We show you how to succeed.
Continuing education must show results
How much does your company invest in continuing education, and how much of that is retained in the long run during daily work? This question is crucial if continuing education is not just meant to convey knowledge, but actually change something.
Whether continuing education was successful is therefore not only evident directly after a seminar or online course. The decisive factor is what happens a few weeks later: Do employees apply what they have learned? Have processes or behaviors changed? Can new skills be used with confidence in daily work?
That is exactly what learning transfer is. It turns a completed learning activity into a process that goes beyond pure knowledge transfer and enables sustainable change.
From "knowing that" to "knowing how"
In German, the difference is often not apparent: You possess both theoretical knowledge about certain facts, and practical knowledge about applications. The latter is more of a skill than knowledge. This is exactly where the weak point of many continuing education offers lies. Too many seminars focus on theoretical knowledge instead of practical application.
Knowing that: Factual knowledge or declarative knowledge. Example: I know that a piano has 88 keys.
Knowing how: Application knowledge or procedural knowledge. Example: I know how to play the piano and can apply this knowledge practically.
For the most effective continuing education possible, the focus shifts away from pure knowledge transfer – towards practical application. Transfer is absolutely essential for this: Only through the meaningful connection between theoretically learned concepts and one's own work does real application in everyday work arise.
Enable learning transfer already during continuing education
Companies invest a lot of time and money in the training of their employees. Therefore, it is all the more important not to think about learning transfer only after completing a measure, but to plan for it from the very beginning.
Three factors are particularly important for this:
Set clear goals: What specifically should employees be able to do differently or better after the training?
Create motivation: Participants must understand why what they have learned is relevant to their work.
Enable application: New knowledge must be tried out repeatedly, reflected upon, and used in daily work.
The crucial factor here is the duration: Even an intensive seminar day can set important impulses. However, without subsequent application and repetition, there is a risk that much of it will be quickly lost again. Sustainable learning transfer therefore takes time and recurring touchpoints.
Accompany online, secure learning transfer
How can continuing education be accompanied over a longer period of time without constantly taking employees out of their daily work? One possibility is a multi-week digital learning support.
Short, recurring learning impulses in the sense of microlearning help to take up content again, set concrete tasks, and promote application in daily work. Instead of limiting learning to a single appointment, a continuous learning process is created.
The combination of face-to-face phases and digital learning is a typical use case for blended learning. Face-to-face appointments can be used, for example, for exchange, joint practice, and complex content, while digital support assists repetition, reflection, and practical transfer.
Benefits of short, daily learning impulses:
low additional time expenditure in daily work
flexible and regular learning impulses
continuous support of learning transfer
By the way: The combination of classic seminars and a multi-week online accompaniment is called blended learning. This gives you the best of both worlds: Personal connection and motivation in the seminar – and sustainable transfer in the online support.
Tips for getting started with Blended Learning
Maybe you have already thought about the possibility of online continuing education, but you don't know how? We give you two essential tips to help with the introduction of blended learning in your company:
1. Start with post-training support
At the beginning, start where learning transfer begins: After classic training. To do this, do not change anything about your regular continuing education offers for now, but additionally offer long-term online support.
Coordinate the digital post-training support with trainers or internal subject matter experts. Particularly helpful are content and tasks that …
have the highest possible practical relevance.
can be easily integrated into the participants' daily routines.
2. Ensure participant motivation
When there are changes in familiar processes, some patience is required, and employees in the company should be made familiar with the new offer. Communicate openly about the advantages of online support for participants and motivate people from different departments and levels to become part of the new project.
At the same time, it should be clear: Even digital learning support can only support learning transfer. The decisive factor is that employees actively apply what they have learned and have sufficient opportunity to do so in their daily work.
Helpful examples include:
short, fixed learning times in everyday work
concrete practical tasks between learning impulses
regular repetitions of important content
opportunities for exchange with colleagues, trainers, or subject matter experts
feedback on the application of what has been learned
In this way, digital support does not become an additional task alongside actual work, but supports employees in combining learning and working.
Conclusion
Sustainable learning transfer occurs when employees do not just absorb new knowledge, but repeatedly apply, reflect on, and firmly integrate it into their daily work.
A seminar or online course can provide important impulses. However, whether this actually leads to new skills and behaviors is only decided afterward. Companies should therefore design continuing education as a longer-term learning process and give employees sufficient opportunity to apply what they have learned in practice.
Digital learning support, microlearning, and blended learning help to bridge this gap between knowledge and action. Short learning impulses, concrete practical tasks, and regular repetitions ensure that training does not end with the last day of the seminar, but continues to have an effect in everyday work.
Frequently Asked Questions and Answers
What does learning transfer mean?
Learning transfer refers to the application of newly acquired knowledge and skills to concrete situations in everyday work. Successful learning transfer is demonstrated when employees actually apply what they have learned and thereby change their behavior or way of working in the long term.
Why is learning transfer important in continuing education?
Without learning transfer, training often stops at pure knowledge transfer. For companies, however, the actual benefit only arises when employees can apply new knowledge and skills in their daily work.
How can learning transfer be promoted?
Learning transfer can be promoted through clear learning goals, practical tasks, regular repetitions, feedback, and sufficient opportunity for application. It is particularly effective to already consider the transfer when planning training and to continue to accompany participants even after individual learning sessions.
How does microlearning support learning transfer?
Microlearning distributes learning content into short, recurring units. This allows employees to regularly refresh knowledge and gradually apply new content in practice. The short learning impulses can also be more easily integrated into daily work than long, additional learning phases.
What role does blended learning play in learning transfer?
Blended learning combines different forms of learning. Face-to-face phases can be used, for example, for exchange and joint practice, while digital learning phases subsequently support repetition, reflection, and practical application. This allows continuing education to be accompanied over a longer period of time.
