Learning on the job is a time-honoured tradition in most industries. In the past, it literally meant learning from someone more experienced working next to you. Yet, today, it’s more a question of combining skills development at work with the right external seminars or courses.
Acquiring new knowledge has always been important to most people. Still, in the last couple of decades, it has become vital - mainly because of the digital transformation of almost every industry. As our workplace evolves with the addition of new tech and new ways of doing things, we need to keep up. And companies both want to and need to educate and re-train their staff. The aviation industry is at the forefront here, not in the least because of its advanced technical nature.
A recent World Economic Forum report found that 54% of all employees will require significant reskilling and upskilling in just three years. While a survey from Deloitte reported that 84% of participating companies were increasing their investment in reskilling programs.
Not just any old training will do
With both employers and employees in the aviation industry seeing the vital need for new knowledge, the next question is what kind of training will provide the best results - or, to put it bluntly, the most bang for the buck.
Several schools and companies are offering more general training, but to many companies and individuals, the standardised fare of lectures and outdated exercises does not provide enough. And that is a significant reason why industry training seminars have become more popular.
Below we will list out a few important reasons why industry training seminars are a great way to acquire new knowledge and skills.
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1. Industry relevance
Unlike more general training, industry training seminars are rooted in what is actually happening in your industry. This is a key point, according to Julika Kerres, Training Services Manager at Satair:
"With our experience in the industry, we are all too familiar with the everyday challenges that employees face in their daily operations. We use these challenges as the core of the learning process within our courses. We go into detail within topics and processes that our customers deal with on a day-to-day basis and help trainees understand the bigger picture of the supply chain."
This drives home perhaps the most significant demand when companies and their employees look for a training to invest time and money in - what it teaches has to be relevant right now, not in a distant future.
2. Combining theory and practice
Another important requirement when picking a course or seminar is that it offers an opportunity to both learn new skills and practices and to be able to test those new skills as part of the training.
Purely theoretical education has the drawback that we lose a lot of what we have learnt very quickly. Some studies show that within one hour, people will have forgotten an average of 50% of the information they have been given. Within 24 hours, 70% has been lost, and after a week as much as 90% is gone. One way to decrease this rapid loss of knowledge is to apply the new skills immediately, in practice sessions.
"We believe that knowledge is better absorbed utilising exercises, case studies and group work. This is the basis of all of our lessons. We try to maintain a healthy balance of around 40% theory and 60% practice in each of them. The use of realistic scenarios combined with the best practices and processes from the industry help our trainees put this new knowledge into work as soon as they return from the seminar," says Kerres.
3. Learning in different ways
Another important aspect of combining theory and practice is that we learn in different ways. While some of us absorb knowledge through reading, others prefer to do it by listening or watching. And we all benefit from working in groups. This is something that Satair's Airbus Material Management Seminars are very aware of, says Julika Kerres:
"Amongst the many tools we use in our training seminars are exercises, brainstorm sessions, group work, games or case studies. We try to minimise the number of slides and theory. Instead, we focus on the practical approach of every topic. The feedback of our previous attendees approves that this is not only the most effective approach to training but also the most enjoyable."
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4. Real scenarios and companies
It's called Industry training for a reason; it should be totally relevant to someone working in a specific industry. To provide this, the organisers have to be a part of the industry in question and able to offer real examples of current events and scenarios.
Training seminars with a firm connection to, e.g. the aviation industry does not only offer a lot of real insights, but they also allow participants to meet the people who are the leaders in different fields within the industry.
"Our trainers and experts have long-term experiences in the Airbus network – both in operations and as trainers and moderators. The trainers are fully involved in setting up and developing the training lessons together with our business units and experts. We make sure that we are always up-to-date and that latest market trends are reflected in the courses." says Kerres.
5. Expanding your network
One final reason why industry training seminars are an excellent way for both companies and individuals to learn new insights and skills is the opportunity to meet and connect with peers.
In more generic courses and training, participants may come from several different industries - some of them with little in common. While this is nice from an "expand your network" perspective, it does not offer the same advantages as getting to know and spend time with people facing the same challenges as you do. With most industries caught up in a tremendous shift because of digital and other transformations, the need to have a robust network of peers to turn to is more important than ever.
Satair's training staff are very aware of this, according to Kerres:
"We give our trainees the opportunity to meet many different airlines or partners from the aviation aftermarket industry. We reserve enough time and space for enlarging your network and meeting pals from the industry, and we encourage everyone to talk to each other and discuss industry-specific challenges."