Simon Le Tocq, Chief Executive of the GTA University Centre looks back over another successful year for the organisation and examines some of the emerging trends we see in learning and development.
If 2023 was the year the world discovered AI, 2024 was the year organisations truly began using, and deriving business value from, this new technology. McKinsey’s revealed that 65% of organisations who completed their 2024 Global Survey on AI are now regularly using AI – double the number from the previous McKinsey survey just 10 months earlier. At the GTA, we launched a series of 3 courses designed to empower professionals across Guernsey with foundational and advanced knowledge in artificial intelligence. These courses saw strong take up and we expect this to an be area of growth in 2025 as more local businesses seek to utilise AI to improve operational efficiencies.
Despite a challenging economic environment marked by high employment costs and a limited labour pool it was encouraging to see strong investment in training with an overall increase in the number of courses compared to 2023. Our dedicated team of 14 staff coordinated the learning and development for approximately 2,500 delegates, delivering 298 courses across 21 different subject areas.
Automation and algorithms may be set to reshape job roles, and there is debate over the extent to which they will impact the jobs market, but one thing seems to be agreed: strong ‘human’ skills such as empathy, creativity, critical thinking and leadership are irreplaceable and will become increasingly valuable in the age of AI. Developing our human skills - problem solving, creative thinking, communication, leadership etc will help prepare us for roles that will inevitably emerge and it was again very encouraging to see a significant increase in the number of individuals attending personal development courses in 2024 – an increase of 40% from 2023. This perhaps also reflects a recognition that today’s workforce needs more than just technical abilities; rather, a holistic approach to employee development is required. We need a workforce that is not only technically proficient but also emotionally intelligent.
Director training saw strong numbers on courses in 2024 which is excellent news for Guernsey boardrooms. The IOD Company Direction programme remains the gold standard professional qualification and new for 2024 was our Director Knowledge Series to help ensure directors can keep their skills sharp. The NED Development Programme, our mentoring programme for aspiring directors, also attracted very good numbers and we were able to offer a record number of 30 placements on boards ranging from local charities to London Listed funds.
A further trend we have seen emerge over the past few years now is a move away from off the shelf cookie-cutter training course towards more bespoke, personalised learning solutions. Businesses and their employees want training tailored to their individual needs and goals. And with emerging tech promising to enable personalisation at scale, we expect to see more organisations in the coming year switching to a more individualised approach to training. Bespoke learning is an area in which we have developed considerable expertise; our team will sit down with you to understand your needs and challenges and create a solution that will help your team perform better. In 2024 we designed 81 such solutions across a variety of different subject areas delivered both in-house and at the GTA.
We were delighted to be recognised for the work we have done with the Guernsey International Insurance Association and the Sagacious Group in creating bespoke professional qualifications for the local insurance industry. We were proud to be nominees in the Education and Training Excellence category at the European Risk Management Awards and to be awarded the Captive Collaboration Project of the Year award at the 2024 European Captive Awards. This is a great example of joined up working with industry to ensure the local workforce remains upskilled and shows that Guernsey can compete on the international stage.
Virtual classrooms and digital workshops have become standard post COVID, and there's now a significant push towards microlearning and on-demand training, allowing learning to be more flexible and accessible. And whilst I have no doubt that the demand for online learning will maintain its upward trajectory, indeed, the hybrid courses that we now offer (where learners can join a course either in person or virtually) have seen increased take up, we still see a strong preference for the physical classroom over the virtual one. Online learning offers many advantages but, in our experience, there is no real substitute for the focus on human interaction that face-to-face learning offers. In 2024 face to face courses still outnumbered virtual ones by 269 compared to 29 delivered online.
Our exams team were exceptionally busy last year with a 115% increase in the number of exam candidates that came through our doors mainly due to commencing delivery of the Life in the UK exams for the Committee for Home Affairs. We also saw an increase in numbers of individuals and employers approaching us to assist with facilitating professional and higher education exams that may have only been available off island. Online and virtual exams are now increasingly the preferred method of assessment for professional qualifications and 2024 saw us upgrade our exams suite to account for the increased demand that we see here.
The range and depth of the programmes we offer are extensive and constantly updated as we work to ensure our learning portfolio meets the needs of the local workforce. We are very proud to be able to say that 98% of delegates that completed training with the GTA last year would recommend us and we would like to thank each and every one of our customers for their support in 2024.
Whether it is an exam, a professional qualification, finding out how AI can help your business, personal development or ongoing cpd we look forward to assisting you with your learning and development needs in 2025!
If you would like to learn more about how the GTA can help you on your learning journey, please call 01481 224570 to speak to one of our Programmes Managers.