Employers who make individual classifications of labor concerns that business leaders care about — increased productivity, accountability and quality of work, along with reduced project costs. But even if leaders are concerned about seeing the return on investment with technical certifications, it might not be obvious how to help your employees prepare for them.
We asked several industry leaders and business instructors to share their tips and tricks to get the most out of workplace development.
Familiarize yourself with the available modes of learning
In the past, employers that wanted to offer technical certification education to their employees had limited options. One of the most common styles of preparing employees for certification involved paying an instructor to come in and lead an intensive boot camp. This approach to development costs several thousands of dollars per learner and takes time away from learners' daily tasks.
On the other side of the spectrum, books were a low-cost and easily accessible option, but they required a lot of heads-down time to study and absorb the information. Today there are plenty of more flexible options. Here are some of the insights the Udemy Business instructors shared about the different learning modes available now:
Visual lab environments
Visual lab environments or sandboxes are another way learners can gain practical experience. "It's very easy to practice using a lab product," says Scott Duffy. Jason adds that virtual lab environments are ideal because you can have your team gain hands-on experience without affecting your production network.
Maximize the support your company and managers provide
In the past, employers that wanted to offer technical certification education to their employees had limited options. One of the most common styles of preparing employees for certification involved paying an instructor to come in and lead an intensive boot camp. This approach to development costs several thousands of dollars per learner and takes time away from learners' daily tasks.
Practice exams
Practice exams give learners the chance to put their knowledge to the test — literally. By going through exercises that are likely to appear on the certification exam, they'll get a good sense of how prepared they are and identify any knowledge or skill gaps. Jason says practice exams are one of the most important ways to prepare for certification.
