As lockdown and restrictions continue in one form or another, we find that more and more of us are struggling to stay positive and motivated. Yes, there is hope on the horizon, but it is not yet clear just how and when we’ll begin to get back to life as we once knew it.
As a training management platform we are, of course, concerned about the well-being and mental health of learners. From apprenticeships to vocational courses, we understand the pressures young adults face as they take the first steps of their careers. And we must do everything we can to support them in their training and to help them succeed in achieving their qualifications and ambitions.
Being forced to work and study from home offers many challenges ranging from isolation to lack of motivation. There are also concerns that it might not be possible to access the right training support when needed.
If learners are to be kept happy and engaged, those who are not able to attend in-person training sessions must be carefully considered by trainers and employers.
We’ve all become more aware in recent years of the link between health and happiness and the importance of positivity for good mental health. Happiness can impact on all aspects of our lives.
In The Happiness Advantage, Shawn Achor, happiness researcher and bestselling author, notes that there is a large body of research and literature in this area. There are numerous recent studies concluding that subjective happiness optimises educational outcomes, that early engagement is a predictor for future success and that engagement is significantly positively related to academic achievement.
All of this illustrates just how vital it is to try to improve engagement and happiness rates in order to achieve successful training outcomes. This is particularly important for those whose training looks set to be interrupted or predominantly delivered remotely over the coming months.
Shawn Achor, Happiness Researcher and Speaker said:
“Happiness raises every educational and business outcome, from productivity to sales to intelligence. Your brain is designed to perform better at positive than at negative, neutral or stressed… if you train your brain to be more positive in the present, you can raise your success rates significantly.”
You probably already execute many of the suggestions for increasing engagement and happiness in the classroom setting, but we thought they were worth reiterating in the context of remote learning. This is not the responsibility of any one party involved in apprenticeship or vocational training delivery. Everyone has a part to play if we are to truly make a difference to the engagement and the resulting attainment of our learners.
Focus on clear and consistent communication so learners feel well-supported and know exactly what they need to deliver.
Ensure training is delivered to a high quality, regardless of delivery method. Make sure you are confident in using the technology – make time to practice.
Make contact with learners regularly to develop a trusting, open relationship. Keep a record so that you can see who hasn’t been in touch for a while.
Check in on learners’ well-being and generally foster a culture of ‘keeping an eye out for one another.’
Support learners with tips for remote study and suggest how they might create the right environment for productivity at home.
Keep continuity between online and offline learning so that learners can be confident their training will remain consistently high quality.
Track the progress of your learners, identify issues early and help them put strategies in place to resolve them.
Professionalise your delivery. This can be difficult when delivery methods are unclear, but using a system like Bud, with its cloud-based online platform, allows for seamless switching between on and offline delivery.
Be aware of what Ofsted inspectors evaluate when they’re assessing online learning in order that you can implement some key engagement strategies.
Let apprentices or trainees see the future opportunities that are available to them. This will inspire them to explore their options for the future.
Understand that things are pretty tough at the moment. Give staff time to complete their training and classroom-based tasks so that they know you place value on what they’re doing.
Introduce your trainees to a buddy or mentor who is a couple of rungs ahead on the ladder. Someone who has been there before can offer some much-needed advice on how to navigate the world of training and work.
Developed to enable streamlined management of training delivery in the apprenticeship and vocational training arena, Bud has been fine-tuned to meet the needs of training providers who understand the importance of enhancing engagement.
Built for mobile, learners love the simplicity and user-friendly nature of Bud’s front-end, which helps them to work any time, anywhere and stay on track with their studies. But it’s not just learners who see the benefits. Clear, data-driven interfaces allow managers, trainers and employers alike to see progress instantly and to give real-time support to those who might be struggling or falling behind.
One element we’ll be talking about during National Apprenticeship Week in February is continuity of course delivery in the face of potential ongoing periods of isolation. This is particularly applicable to younger learners who may not be in line to get the vaccination quickly. It is an area in which Bud excels, offering as it does a consistent approach to content management and delivery by multiple trainers both online and offline.
We can’t underestimate how critical engagement is. The more engaged our learners are, the better our completion rates will be. This is vital for attracting that all important funding.