Pandemic highlights importance of digital skills training

Bhavneet Chahal explains how Covid-19 presents an opportunity for small and medium Kiwi businesses to adopt digital skills training.

Bhavneet Chahal from GoSkills says that Covid-19 has been the catalyst for many small and medium businesses to transition to online training and development.

“During the pandemic we saw an increase in demand from both businesses and individuals for high quality online training, coinciding with the global shift to remote work. Many businesses who had been slow to adapt to online training methods needed to quickly get their staff set up in a matter of days,” says Chahal (pictured).

“We responded by onboarding a record number of new businesses onto our free learning management system, and reducing our subscription costs for individuals to make learning new skills more affordable.”

Chahal co-founded GoSkills in 2013 with Wellington-based entrepreneur Franz Ombler and University of Otago Professor of Economics Paul Hansen, after seeing a gap in the market for high quality business skills courses. The company has since grown to serve over 250,000 learners and 3,000 businesses worldwide, and recently received the esteemed EdTechXGlobal Startup Award for their inclusive approach to online education.

“A lot of learning management systems don’t cater to small and medium businesses. They often come with a high minimum number of learners and exorbitant set up fees that are just not realistic for SMES and lean startups,” she explains.

“Our goal with GoSkills has always been to remove those barriers, so that everyone can access the training they need. As a lean startup ourselves, run by a completely remote and distributed team, we want to help other small businesses grow their talent.”

Faster cycles of technological change and an increasing reliance on digital tools has served to increase the widening digital skills gap in New Zealand. A recent study found that for 62 percent of New Zealand organisations, less than half of their employees possess the necessary digital skills to do their jobs.

As New Zealand transitions into the new normal of post-pandemic life, investing in online training is one way that small and medium businesses can bring themselves up to speed with the essential skills of the digital era.

“It’s fast, it’s flexible, and it’s affordable,” says Chahal of the benefits of online learning. “With proven delivery methods like microlearning and gamification, your employees can learn new skills, like how to create a Pivot Table in Excel in a matter of minutes.”

“Businesses that used the Covid-19 crisis as an opportunity to adopt digital skills training are already seeing the benefits in productivity, retention, and morale.”