What do you think of when you hear the word “learning”? Perhaps you think of a training course, sitting in a room with an expert sharing their thoughts. Or joining an online instructor-led course where you follow the same syllabus as a group in real time. In various circumstances these learning opportunities can be valuable, however, as learning is moving from instructor-led to self-paced, on-demand learning provides each individual with the ability to create their own tailored learning path. Learning happens naturally, and continuously. From a chance conversation with a colleague, to a quick internet search, information has never been easier to find.
In the GÉANT Learning and Development team (GLAD), we aim to integrate learning into the flow of work. In addition to our range of “formal” training programmes, which you can find in our new Course Catalogue webpage, we are investing time in creating self-paced learning on eAcademy. We also provide licences to O’Reilly Media technical training, and publish recordings of training sessions on GÉANTtv. This enables you to access the information you need as soon as you realise you need it, without waiting for a formal training session to be created.
Tailored learning doesn’t stop there as the GÉANT Mentoring Programme has recently been launched. Recognising the need for a more balanced workforce, the GÉANT Gender Equality Plan committed GLAD to “implement a formal mentorship programme and extend reach to the wider GÉANT community and beyond”. As part of the Mentoring Programme Project implementation, we will use a dedicated Mentoring Platform to establish effective mentor and mentee pairings, comprehensive feedback collection, analytics, and reporting.
Learning is an important incentive to attract and retain talented employees. At TNC23, participants from NRENS in Europe, Africa and North America joined a growing community of people-focused individuals to share ideas on how to attract and motivate talented people. In a competitive recruitment environment, we heard from several NRENs who explained how they seek to recruit new graduates and “grow their own talent” rather than recruiting externally. Of course, there are challenges and opportunities to this route, and its success requires employees to spend time sharing knowledge. Coaching in the flow of work is a key part of developing in-house talent.
To find out more about GLAD and the opportunities they provide, visit community.geant.org/learning
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