Corporate training has undergone some serious changes in the last couple of years. Employers and trainees both have new expectations for workplace learning, and trainers are consistently forced to stay ahead of the curve. 

32% of companies reported that their training budgets increased – a sharp rise from previous years. Companies are spending more on corporate training tools and professionals, and they expect up-to-date skills and platforms. 

As a corporate trainer, your core responsibility is to understand a business’s needs, then use your skills to provide educational solutions to those needs. To help you increase your demand and build a successful career, we’re sharing the top four skills you need to foster.

(1) Strong Communication Tactics 

You likely already understand the importance of strong communication skills. However, we could easily make the argument that communication is a hotter topic now than ever before – especially when it comes to workplace learning. 

2020 was the year that the world went remote. Now, research indicates that up to 49% of employees are fully remote. Although there are still plenty of people working in physical offices, it’s increasingly common to find teams that are fully or partially remote, at least in some capacity. 

Nowadays, workplace learning doesn’t always take place in one room with physical trainers and trainees. Most companies have embraced a blend of in-person and virtual training, with a large chunk of businesses turning to “virtual classrooms.” 

So, how can you exhibit communication skills and engage learners remotely? That’s something employers will want to know in 2022 and beyond. You can start by: 

• Turning on your video. People like to actually see you, even when training virtually. 
• Engaging with trainees within the first 5 minutes. Set expectations at the start of each session.
• Prompting casual engagement. Ask questions over video or audio to start conversations.
• Using trainees’ first names. You want to establish personal, positive connections.
• Sharing a personal story. This build familiarity and helps you relate to trainees on a personal level. Bonus points for humor!
• Communicating results. What will trainees be able to do after this training? Be specific, and speak in terms of behavior change. 

To be the best, you don’t just need to be good at talking to learners or explaining subjects. You need to be skilled at facilitating communication in both directions – virtually or in the real world. 

(2) Organizational Skills

You’ve always needed to juggle various materials and schedules. Now, you also need to add digital corporate training tools to your organizational list. 

The US e-learning market is expected to potentially grow by $12.81 billion between 2020 and 2024. We’re witnessing an explosion in online training platforms, virtual learning spaces, and all kinds of educational software. There’s a lot to keep your eye on. 

Speaking of software, you may want to add some of these great organizational tools to your arsenal: 

• Canva, for creating interactive graphic materials. 
• Prezi Business for impressive, streamlined presentations. 
• Klipfolio for reporting and tracking KPIs. 

These will help you keep track of all your data, as well as the many virtual and e-learning solutions you’re adopting. 

(3) Up-to-Date Expertise  

A stellar corporate trainer doesn’t just read from a textbook or how-to guide. Instead, they bring razor-sharp research skills to the table and do their own digging into necessary subjects. 

You need to stay on top of the latest, most cutting-edge content for your learners. This is especially true in the healthcare, technology, and digital marketing spheres where things are always changing. 

How do you build modern expertise as a corporate trainer? Well, you start by: 

• Staying up to date with the newest training resources
• Gathering valuable feedback from employers and trainees 
• Following reputable news sources within your industry 
• Assessing and experimenting with new learning platforms 
• Learning how to access information on industry-specific topics 

Small businesses aren’t always going to tell you what to do. In fact, more often than not, they’re going to ask you what they should do. 

You need to be in a place to advise employers on the best corporate training tools, strategies, and trends out there. You also need to be able to quickly find and absorb information on topics, especially when they’re new to you. 

(4) Technology Skills

It doesn’t matter what area you specialize in as a corporate trainer – technology is a part of every field at this point. That means you need to have some essential technical skills, such as: 

• Experience with learning management systems (LMS)
• Knowledgeable about Cloud storage and accessibility solutions 
• Familiarity with popular learning generation platforms (microlearning, LXP, authoring platforms, etc.)

The “2021 LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report” indicates that we have truly entered a new digital era. According to learning and development leaders around the world, “resilience” and “digital fluency” were cited as the first or second most important skills in all the countries surveyed. 

As we mentioned earlier, training programs are nowadays increasingly digitized. You have to constantly adapt to new technology, resources, and corporate training tools. Staying adaptable can be the key to career success. 

Tech savviness as a corporate trainer isn’t just about understanding the latest programs. It’s also about providing trainees with the guidance and support they need. If their trainer can’t help them troubleshoot issues with their learning journeys, who can? 

Need Help “Modernizing” Your Training? 

We know the challenges of staying up-to-date as a corporate trainer. At Code of Talent, we’ve helped trainees complete more than 2,500 learning journeys and achieved a 92% engagement rate. Trust us – we know what it takes to digitize and enhance training programs in order to transform learning into action.

If you’re a corporate trainer or an organization looking to minimize training time, costs, and challenges, let’s talk. We’ll equip you with the training tools and knowledge you need to succeed. Check out the Code of Talent demo today or send us a message online.