I remember some years back, I was fairly new in a large company and was tasked with designing and implementing of a technical training program for a customer with a very large number of technicians, with the support of a seasoned team of engineers.
This is mainly because most technical experts lack formal education in training and development and don't have the digital competence to effectively deliver modern programs and courses that benefit learners and leverage digital learning management tools to enable organizations to track and optimize learning programs to ensure gains in organizational performance.
On the other hand, many well prepared educators lack sufficient knowledge of technical subjects to understand how to design and support effective technical training, often creating largely ineffective technical training programs with questionable ROI.
Back to that training project that I mentioned earlier, thanks to the teamwork and support of a stellar technical team, coupled with a deep toolbox that included technical, EdTech, and adult learning backgrounds, we were able to implement the program with great success!
The first challenge was identifying potential candidates within the client’s organization who could serve as effective program champions and evolve into instructors capable of managing and maintaining the program long-term.
For me, the first step was clear: conducting specific training needs analysis, skills proficiency assessments, evaluating instructional leadership aptitude in candidates, and identifying available EdTech to leverage for managing and scaling the program. However, as soon as I began discussing these, one of our managers looked at me and said they had stellar technical experts, but perhaps not many with experience in these areas, and certainly none that could implement and manage an LMS for the program.
This was understandable since these individuals were expert engineers, not workforce development specialists.
A common consensus in research literature is that a significant limitation in adult learning is that most subject matter experts in technical fields lack the educational background to effectively transfer knowledge and deliver training that achieves desired goals and expected outcomes.
This is mainly because most technical experts lack formal education in training and development and don't have the digital competence to effectively deliver modern programs and courses that benefit learners and leverage digital learning management tools to enable organizations to track and optimize learning programs to ensure gains in organizational performance.
On the other hand, many well prepared educators lack sufficient knowledge of technical subjects to understand how to design and support effective technical training, often creating largely ineffective technical training programs with questionable ROI.
Back to that training project that I mentioned earlier, thanks to the teamwork and support of a stellar technical team, coupled with a deep toolbox that included technical, EdTech, and adult learning backgrounds, we were able to implement the program with great success!