Meeting Learners Where They Are: Navigating the Evolving Landscape of Education Consulting

Amy Wartham, Director of Corporate and Custom Training, University of North Carolina, UNC Charlotte

What are your current key roles and responsibilities at UNC Charlotte when it comes to education, consulting, and corporate and custom training?

As the director of corporate and customer training at UNC Charlotte, I have served the university for nearly 24 years, and have been in this role for over 18 years. My primary responsibility is to engage with companies, understand their workforce development needs, and work with our instructors to customize content accordingly.

We deliver the courses on-site at the organization, online, or at the UNC Charlotte Dubois center. Our course catalog boasts over 150 courses, covering a wide range of topics from project and process management to Six Sigma, along with several tech bootcamps and leadership essentials.

Soft skills training, particularly in the areas of leadership, supervisory skills, retention, and recruitment, is in high demand among our clients. Emotional intelligence, problem-solving, and critical thinking are the most requested courses in this category. We also offer courses on communication, including communication strategies, assertiveness, and navigating difficult conversations. It is rewarding to be able to offer such comprehensive training to help organizations develop their workforce and achieve their goals.

In your opinion, what are the most significant challenges and trends that have emerged in this space over the last few years?

According to my experience, the most pressing challenge in the education consulting space is the lack of time available for employees to devote to their professional development. With the recent workforce turnover and the rise of phrases like ‘quiet quitting’ and ‘the great resignation,’ individual centers within companies are often understaffed and overburdened, leaving little time for employees to invest in themselves or attend training sessions.

Additionally, many companies are still struggling with budgeting issues, which can hinder their ability to provide adequate professional development opportunities to their employees. As a result, it is crucial for education consulting providers to offer flexible and accessible training options that can accommodate the schedules and financial constraints of their clients.

“This trend of providing smaller chunks of training is likely to continue in the future, with a growing emphasis on mobile learning options and job aids that can be accessed on the go”

How do you envision the future of the education consultation space?

There’s been a significant shift in the training space over the years, particularly in terms of the delivery format. In the past, we used to provide two or three days of back-to-back training, but due to the shortage of time, companies now prefer shorter, targeted training sessions that won’t take employees away from their work for extended periods. This trend of providing smaller chunks of training is likely to continue in the future, with a growing emphasis on mobile learning options and job aids that can be accessed on the go.

As we are located in Charlotte, a hub for a diverse range of industries, we have observed the need for training and development across various sectors such as healthcare, finance, energy, and technology. I believe that onboarding will be crucial in retaining employees, particularly those who are just entering the workforce. To address these challenges, education consulting providers must continue to evolve and offer innovative training solutions that cater to the specific needs of their clients.

Would you like to talk about any training programs that you have been working on?

We recently developed a data analytics certification program for one of our clients who generated a massive amount of data, and we had positive feedback on how it has helped them handle the organization’s data flow.

Without the proper tools and strategies for analysis, the amount of data was overwhelming for their employees. Our program helped their employees manage and draw insights from the data, enabling the organization to make better decisions and gain a competitive edge. Looking back, technology played a significant role in data analysis, enabling organizations to stay ahead of the curve and make data-driven decisions. We witnessed significant strides in data analysis technology, which opened new opportunities for education consulting providers like us to support organizations in unlocking the full potential of their data.

Would you like to share a piece of advice with your fellow peers working in this space, so that they can gain some knowledge from the experience you have?

My advice to those in the education consulting space would be to stay open-minded and adaptable to change. As learning and development continue to evolve, we need to be willing to meet learners where they are and provide training experiences that are engaging and effective. We can no longer rely on lengthy, passive learning programs that are quickly forgotten. Instead, we must make learning fun, practical, and hands-on, providing learners with tools and skills they can apply in their work immediately.

To achieve this, we must strive to create immersive learning experiences that are memorable and impactful, rather than simply ticking a training requirement box. By embracing this approach, education consulting providers can help organizations and their employees achieve their full potential, driving success and growth in a rapidly changing business environment.

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