Attract young talent to the printing industry with online learning

“There just isn’t enough talent coming into the printing industry” say WhatTheyThink, and there are countless other comments from industry figures in the media backing this up. The reason behind this seems to be that younger generations see the industry as being a bit old-fashioned and don’t recognize all the technological advancements that we in the industry see all the time.

In my last article I wrote about how printers can counteract this by appealing to the younger generations’ desire to use more technology at work. I’d like to follow on from this by sharing an idea for something a bit more specific. Since 87% of millennials also see development opportunities in their job as important why not combine these two pieces of insight, and offer your employees digital development opportunities i.e. give them access to online learning academies.

Benefits of online learning academies for your employees

• Online learning is much more flexible and independent than the traditional classroom approach, allowing new recruits to mix up their day with both on-the-job training and more theory based courses. I think everyone will agree that’s much more interesting and productive than a full day of classroom learning.
  
  
• Not everyone finds it easy to take part in group training sessions and using a learning academy caters for those personality types who may struggle to speak up and ask questions during group training.
  
  
• Training academies allow people to revisit their learning whenever they want, unlike in-person sessions.

Benefits of learning academies for businesses

Not only can training academies help attract new young talent, but they can also provide benefits for existing employees and their employers too.

• A LinkedIn survey found that 94% of employees would stay at a company longer if their employer invested in their career. So by investing in your existing employees and providing them with ongoing training opportunities via an online learning academy, you’re more likely to keep them engaged and in their roles for longer.
  
  
• You could also benefit financially too - according to The Association for Talent Development, businesses that invest in employee training saw a 24% higher profit margin. No further explanation needed for that one!

How do I provide my employees with learning academies?

The easiest way is to make use of any existing learning academies provided by your software suppliers. When we have any new recruits on the marketing team here at Tharstern, they’re able to start their training right away using HubSpot’s training academy, which provides online classes on various marketing topics and awards certifications to learners on completion. So for any new recruits, look at the software they would be using as part of their role, and see if supplying companies offer any online learning as part of your subscription.

The second way would be to use platforms like Rise or Lessonly to create your own internal training academy with company specific courses that employees can work through based on the skills they need to develop. Taking this a step further, you could also use this platform to carry out inductions, health and safety training or any other training you deliver.

I will end with this statistic… A whopping 40% of people would leave their job within the first year if they didn't receive the necessary training. I think this really highlights the importance of providing learning opportunities for your employees. And using technology to deliver this will give you the added bonus of attracting more of the younger generations to your business – a win-win.