Contents:
What will 2024 be remembered for: mentoring, working with youth, and, of course, AI
In 2024, experts noted several key trends and directions that were actively developing and will likely continue to do so in 2025. These trends have the potential to significantly impact various industries and areas of life, opening up new opportunities for businesses and consumers. Therefore, it is important to stay abreast of these changes to effectively adapt to new conditions and capitalize on emerging opportunities.
The first trend is business's recognition of the importance of corporate training. iSpring Academy Director Tatyana Galkina notes that stakeholders are beginning to recognize training as a key business process and are willing to allocate resources to it. According to her, this growth is becoming noticeable year after year. Demand for internal "academies" and corporate universities, as well as knowledge bases, is growing every year, underscoring the relevance and importance of corporate training in today's environment.
Of course, please write the text you need to revise, and I will help you with SEO optimization.
Several years ago, corporate universities were perceived as the preserve of large companies. Nowadays, even small businesses recognize the importance of creating uniform standards, knowledge bases, and approaches to task completion and employee training. Demand for internal academies is growing, demonstrating an understanding of the need for a systematic approach to staff training and development. Corporate universities are becoming an important tool for professional development, improving work efficiency, and fostering a unified corporate culture.
The second important trend is a product-based approach to training. Tatyana Galkina emphasizes that more and more companies are beginning to develop courses with a focus on real benefits, rather than simply fulfilling formalities or responding to random requests. Digital Learning community leader Pavel Bezyaev supports this viewpoint, noting that in recent years, Russian corporate training specialists have increasingly used business metrics to evaluate the effectiveness of their programs. This demonstrates a desire to improve the quality of training and make it more targeted and effective.
The third trend is systematic outreach to young people and the development of career counseling, which is not new. By attracting potential employees as early as school or university education, Russian companies seek to address the talent shortage. Valery Leontyev, CEO of Labmedia, notes that in his practice, such programs are primarily focused on career guidance. Effective career guidance programs help young people better understand their strengths and choose the appropriate career path, which in turn contributes to the creation of a qualified talent pool for businesses.
Career counseling as part of internal mobility programs aimed at company employees striving for professional growth and development has become especially relevant in 2024. This process contributes to increased employee satisfaction, improved skills, and increased engagement with corporate goals. Effective career counseling helps identify hidden talents and provides opportunities for further advancement within the organization, which, in turn, promotes retention and reduces turnover. Thus, internal mobility programs remain an important aspect of strategic human resources management in modern companies.
The fourth trend is mentoring. Since 2021, the topic of mentoring has continued to gain popularity and interest, demonstrating its growing importance in the educational sector. Many training projects focus on creating mentoring schools, which is becoming a key driver of increased learning value. Tatyana Galkina notes that next year, employees will be motivated to become mentors and tutors, as amendments to the Labor Code will come into effect on March 1, 2025, requiring companies to pay mentors. In addition, a study conducted by the Club 500 entrepreneurship community and the hh.ru platform shows that employees of Russian companies are willing to share their experience, which also emphasizes the importance and relevance of mentoring in modern business.
The fifth trend is the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into training and work processes. Valery Leontyev emphasizes that AI tools are actively used as assistants that support learning. A recent study conducted by Digital Learning and Equio in 2024 found that 39% of Russian companies are already experimenting with generative AI, and 2% have integrated it into their work processes. Pavel Bezyaev notes that companies in the experimental stage will likely begin using generative neural networks on a regular basis by 2025. The transition of most organizations to using these technologies is becoming inevitable, opening up new opportunities for increased efficiency and optimization. Providers, especially large companies, are actively developing services based on neural networks. According to Valery Leontiev, users will soon be able to take advantage of these new tools at attractive prices. However, using ChatGPT in some projects is becoming increasingly difficult or impossible for various reasons. This opens up opportunities for the emergence of alternative solutions and services that meet modern user requirements. With the development of artificial intelligence, the speaker identifies two key trends. The first is the localization of large language models, which is occurring not only at the country level but also at the level of individual companies. The second trend is related to business demand for training courses on working with artificial intelligence. To achieve high-quality results, it is important to be able to formulate precise and clear requests. In this regard, we can expect an increase in the popularity of educational programs aimed at mastering AI skills.
Read our materials also:
Over the past three years, Russian corporate training has undergone significant changes. Key drivers of this transformation have been technological advances, changing approaches to learning, and business needs. The introduction of online platforms and digital tools has made learning more accessible and flexible. Companies have begun to actively utilize webinars, video courses, and interactive training, allowing employees to learn at a convenient time and in a comfortable environment.
Furthermore, the emphasis has shifted from traditional methods to practical skills and competencies that directly impact productivity. Training methodologies have become more results-oriented, which contributes to increased employee engagement and improved learning.
There is also growing interest in personalized training programs that take into account the unique needs and career goals of each employee. This allows companies to build more effective teams and achieve better results.
Thus, Russian corporate training continues to evolve, adapting to modern market demands and providing companies with the necessary tools for successful personnel development.
What to expect in 2025: reskilling and even more AI
Tatyana Galkina highlights several key areas that, in her opinion, will be important in the coming year. These trends should be taken into account by both businesses and individual specialists striving to remain relevant in the market. Monitor changes in these areas to stay abreast of the latest trends and adapt your strategies.
- Reskilling (retraining).
The current trend in the labor market is due to a shortage of personnel and difficulties in the hiring process. Businesses will increasingly focus on developing internal mobility programs and training current employees. This requires the creation of continuous learning and development pathways encompassing both soft skills and professional competencies. Reskilling will become an important tool for reducing employee turnover. In this context, personalization, that is, individual employee development pathways, will become even more important.
- Blended Learning.
Experts predict an increase in the number of corporate programs in a blended format in 2024. This format has already been predicted to be highly popular this year, and it is expected to continue to gain momentum in the future. Tatyana Galkina notes that a problem-based approach, especially based on the 4C/ID model, will increasingly be used in educational program design. However, Valery Leontyev emphasizes that companies have room for improvement, as he rates the quality of most of the courses that participated in this year's Digital Learning award as average. This opens up opportunities for improving learning efficiency and creating higher-quality content.
- More AI—and more questions about its use.
In 2025, the corporate training community will face challenges associated with the use of generative artificial intelligence. One key objective will be accelerating the content creation process without losing quality. Tatyana Galkina emphasizes that the primary goal is to maintain a high level of quality in the courses being developed. Even when using neural networks, the final result must be carefully managed to ensure that quality standards remain high. Effective use of generative AI can be a powerful tool for improving educational content, but control over the process and the final product remains critical.
Content quality is not the only aspect that methodologists and developers will face. They must also consider various risks, including the risk of mistrust in AI-generated content. This lack of trust can impact the perception and acceptance of materials by the target audience, which in turn will impact the effectiveness of the educational process. It is important to develop strategies to increase trust in GAI content, including transparency in its creation and providing users with the ability to rate and comment on materials.
Generative artificial intelligence (AI) will have a significant impact on the skills and training of IT personnel, as indicated McKinsey analysis. The introduction of generative AI technologies will transform approaches to training and professional development. IT professionals will be forced to adapt to new requirements, including the use of AI in their daily work.
The main changes will affect the automation of routine tasks, allowing IT workers to focus on more complex and creative aspects of their work. This will lead to the need to master new skills, such as working with AI algorithms, data analysis, and project management in the context of applying AI technologies.
IT personnel training will need to be revised to include courses on generative AI and its practical applications. Continuing education will also become increasingly important, as technology evolves rapidly and specialists will need to continually update their knowledge. Ultimately, generative AI will not only transform IT personnel skills but also create new opportunities for professional growth and development in this field.
What awaits corporate training providers in 2025
Valery Leontyev identified several challenges that affect not only training departments but also external providers. The expert predicts that "megaplatforms" from major developers such as Sber and Yandex will appear on the market in 2025. These will include HR platforms and learning management systems (LMS). According to the speaker, providers must adapt to these changes and find ways to effectively interact with the new environment. The need to maintain uniform course standards remains a pressing challenge. Experts note that with the growing popularity of platforms created by major developers such as Sber, there is a growing perception that a uniform standard for courses on these platforms is unnecessary. However, as Valery Leontyev emphasizes, "if it wasn't broken, don't fix it." Abandoning standards such as SCORM can lead to negative consequences, such as a loss of learning quality and difficulties in integrating various educational resources. Maintaining uniform standards is critical to ensuring the effectiveness and compatibility of educational materials. In today's world, software cannot exist in isolation. We strive to offer Russian solutions, but it is important to remember international standards such as SCORM. This standard ensures compatibility and ease of use of courses across various platforms. Support for SCORM is essential, and there is no need to try to change its principles, as it already functions effectively. We successfully develop courses that we package in SCORM format, allowing us to ensure compatibility when using them. Course interoperability does not require radical changes, as current standards fully meet our needs. Pavel Bezyaev emphasizes that the need to use multiple different services for learning remains a pressing issue. These services are often not integrated into a single ecosystem, making it difficult to extract and combine data. According to Pavel, this will be one of the main challenges of next year, as in previous years. The third challenge is the need to comply with the quality standards of third-party libraries. The EdTech community has been striving to enter the B2B market through learning marketplaces for several years, but these services still raise questions. Ensuring high-quality content and reliable technology is key to the successful implementation of such platforms in the business environment. To increase user trust, it is important to develop clear evaluation criteria and quality control mechanisms for the resources offered. Of course, I am ready to help you improve the text. Please provide the source text you wish to edit.
There are growing inquiries about the abundance of courses offered on marketplaces. However, employees who take them often fail to achieve significant results or experience minimal impact. Valery believes that we, as a community, need to address this issue and find solutions.
He emphasizes the need to improve the quality of digital learning courses, as their insufficient quality could lead to the discrediting of this field. Experts believe that the quality of training depends not only on providers but also on customers, who are not yet sufficiently demanding in the Russian market. Competition in this segment also remains low. Pavel Bezyaev notes that major EdTech players such as Skillbox and Netology have already achieved significant success in developing high-quality products for corporate training, but demand for these solutions remains below expectations.