Wendy Tan
Author, Keynote Speaker & Managing Partner of Flame Centre | Future Skills Institute
Updated 14 Dec 2022
Learning agility is the ability to learn different skills and capabilities easily and quickly. An agile learner knows what skills they need to learn and how to learn effectively. They also monitor their learning to improve their learning productivity.
Agile learners go beyond what they learn to focus on how they learn.
Why is Learning Agility Important Now?
The disruption caused by digitalization, automation, and big data is changing how value is created, how work is done, and how organizations operate. This speed of change, exacerbated by the recent pandemic compels organizations to change their business model rapidly. These developments result in the creation of new jobs and demands for new skills.
Similarly, various think tanks have listed learning skills as one of the top skills to thrive in the future of work. They include:
The World Economic Forum: Active learning and learning strategies amongst 10 skills
McKinsey: 56 skills including the ability to learn
OECD: Learning how to learn skills and metacognition
Pearson: Active Learning and Learning Strategies amongst top 10 skills in US and UK
SkillsFuture: Learning Agility amongst 16 critical core skills
Source: World Economic Forum
Source: Pearson
How does Learning Agility Help?
At a personal level, learning agility helps us to:
Develop new skills and capabilities quickly
See the world anew and be able to think of new ideas
Have more career options and feel more empowered to do good work
At an organizational level, a learning workforce means:
High level of nimbleness in uncertain and rapidly changing situations
The ability to find new answers when previously proven strategies fail
The success rate of business transformation increases
At a country level, a learning nation leads to:
Skilled workforce to attract investments in growth areas
People making smoother transitions to new industries and jobs
Higher GDP and happiness index
Strategic workforce upskilling at the national and organizational level as well as learning agility at the individual level are keys to the success of the countries, organizations, and employees alike.
Now, if you believe learning agility is important, the next question is whether we can develop learning agility in ourselves and our people.
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Do you know your strengths and the skills to develop to grow your career? Here's how to enhance your skills.
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