We bring teaching content to where the people are”

We bring teaching content to where the people are”

Automotive industry: Mr. Letz, the half-life of knowledge is decreasing from year to year. At the same time, the need to train employees is increasing. How can companies overcome this challenge?

Thomas Letz: Rapid technological development presents companies with major challenges. Two things are becoming more important: lifelong learning and ad hoc learning. It is no longer enough to complete training once. A quick, uncomplicated procedure is also required for training and further education. 

Does the acquisition of knowledge always have to be academic or is it now also about other forms of applicable knowledge and if so, what are they?

This is exactly what ad hoc learning is all about. The situation in everyday business requires a quick reaction to new circumstances. This often cannot be reconciled with registration deadlines and attendance appointments at educational institutions. Ad hoc learning is about imparting knowledge quickly and easily - the learning content can be consumed on the side and in shorter sequences, so to speak, in a playful way and in any case in such a way that employees do not have to be released. This is what our eLearings offer is aimed at. 

How did the business publisher now also offer eLearning?

This is an almost logical development of our offer. On the one hand, we have been active in face-to-face training with our Automotive Academy for many years and offer, among other things, §57a further training. On the other hand, we in the editorial departments have the expertise to impart knowledge. Ultimately, such eLearnings are just another form of storytelling. It's always about one thing: the benefit for our readers. 

How do offline and online interact when conveying knowledge?

Offline will always be an important part, but online will become more and more important as a complement to it. This is also what our market research revealed: The continuing education market - which, by the way, is worth billions in the entire German-speaking region - is developing stable overall, but the digital area is growing rapidly - in the double-digit percentage range per year. The area received an additional boost due to the corona crisis. We also successfully organized webinars at the academy during the lockdowns. You can also see here: It's all done hand and hand, the transitions are fluid. With eLearning, we bring learning content to where people are, namely on their cell phones or PCs. A perfect complement to classroom training for theoretical content. 

What training courses does the Business Publishing Academy currently offer?

We have started with eLearnings on the topic of occupational safety. Here we have put together tailor-made packages for companies. In addition to the technical content, this also includes documentation in the event of an inspection by the labor inspectorate. Anyone who completes a course receives a certificate. We have also created editorial eLearnigs from various specialist areas specifically for the automotive sector. There is a very successful, free eLearning on tire repair and one on measuring brake fluid.