Keeping in touch with learners is vital for the training sector

Training bodies for civil servants have also been severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and have had to rapidly put face-to-face sessions on hold, and come up with a wide range of distance learning options.

As a number of national government departments had recently introduced innovative programmes, they are now finding it easier to face up to these extraordinary circumstances. 

Largescale rollout may highlight inequality as regards understanding and knowledge of digital resources. With an eye to having an accurate as possible overview and adjusting its offering, Italy has unveiled the “Syllabus” scheme. This is an assessment test broken down into five categories (including one for managers) giving everyone access to a customised training plan.

There must be a global distance learning strategy for the entire public sector to help ensure improved coordination between different courses. Ireland has taken this approach with its OneLearning learning and development centre. The platform is available to all civil servants, who can take advantage of a vast selection of interactive sessions and courses, whether in the area of business skills or personal development.

New forms of training should also share the overall momentum of the digital transformation. In Germany, the new SIB project – the federal government’s in-house social media – is geared towards fostering and mainstreaming virtual collaborative work and includes a knowledge acquisition arm in which the offerings of the various operators are slated to be gradually included.   

Many media are now used to cater for all requirements. The government in Spain has made a large number of MOOCs available to provide its employees with training in structured blocks. The courses are all online so trainees can study at their own pace. Although this training has been a resounding success, a recent study has revealed a number of limitations when the topics addressed require interaction.

Technology can contribute to alternative learning methods. An example is the Netherlands which uses virtual action learning whereby, during a remote discussion, civil servants examine their own actions or experiences by answering questions from the trainer. The latter acts as a tutor to help trainees improve their performance levels. 

In the United Kingdom the government is looking to go further with regards to real-life situations by using resources that are still under-exploited in this field. It is especially interested in immersive learning which uses augmented reality technology. The leaders of the immersive learning series flag up the benefits of immersion which they claim effectively addresses problems with concentration.

There may be an inclination to reduce training as we know it but this could eliminate the social ties between learners and networks which are nourished by group courses. Perhaps the answer lies in a combined approach:

• In Denmark, a number of public bodies offer flipped classrooms, an inverted model in which only exercises and practical work are carried out on-site.

• In Greece, the National School of Public Administration has put part of its training programme online on the Open eClass e-learning platform.

In Singapore, on-site training has already been significantly cut back. Civil servants have access to the learn.gov.sg website which contains all the courses on offer based on this model. Employers are required to give staff four hours per month out of their working hours which represents almost half of the number of hours earmarked for training.