Tony Karrer summarizes views of what workplace learning will look like in 10 years…and offers his own:
Half of the current members of training departments will still be there. The others will have first jumped into these new departments. These will be the individuals who focus on performance, who get informal/pull learning, and who take the lead on understanding the role of technology.
I would predict that this half becomes some kind of management consultant within the next 10 years.
I think Tony is right. Organizational learning/training/development must ultimately be focused on capacity building (i.e. the ability of an organization to enact its goals and to adapt and change rapidly as external realities change). The current training and development function must be focused in this direction (and in the process, expand their service to the organization) or L & D will be subsumed by other departments. As I’ve stated before, learning can no longer exist as a distinct and separate function in an organization