Uberisation of training: how far can we go?

"Uberization" is a neologism coined less than 10 years ago, which refers to the "rethinking the economic model of a company or a sector of activity by the arrival of a new the arrival of a new player offering the same services at lower prices, carried out by self-employed people rather than employees, most often via Internet booking platforms" (Petit Larousse). The transportation of people by car with driver, tourism rental, meal delivery, and health care are experiencing their uberization. The training, too.

The university at its doorstep, degrees and jobs included

The traditional actors of training, universities, schools, specialized centers, have had to face new entrants for the last ten years. new entrants. They offer training services on demand, often all online, less expensive than the equivalent in a traditional traditional institution, and sometimes delivered by reputable teachers.

The first MOOC platforms have enjoyed the success thanks to this model, taken to the extreme: follow courses from the best universities in the world, for free! This attractive offer obviously did not include the diploma. But what do you buy in a training course? if not the diploma, a pass to a quality job, a professional promotion, a network professional advancement, a network offering guarantees against the vagaries of life?

The new professional training operators have quickly detected the value of the diploma and quickly detected the value of the degree and now offer degree courses that offer facilities previously unknown to enrollees:

• possibilities to assemble courses as one's and priorities,
• possibility of interrupting or accelerating one's course,
• possibility of accessing a certification or a professional title in a few months rather than in two or three years.

In addition, these new training operators are unparalleled in their ability to identify the need for to identify labor needs and offer ad hoc training, often with a guaranteed job for ad hoc, often with a guaranteed job at the end.

A step further: all trainers

Just as the famous chauffeur-driven transportation service has increased the number of drivers in many cities around the many cities around the world, some form of uber-education promises to be promise to be all trainers.

We would be on the cusp of "collaborative and resolution-based training" among peers. After all, we all have something to teach. It's just a matter of For supply to meet demand, preferably via a digital platform, for the training session to take place. The only criterion for success is the learner's satisfaction. then in the satisfaction of the learner.

Some large companies have taken up the challenge of training everyone by everyone. This, in an attempt to bridge the generational gap between employees for example, or to limit the evaporation of rare knowledge accompanying senior employees when they retire.

What are the results?

Indubitably, many people are seduced by the ease of organization and choice, at a reduced cost, offered by the platforms of connection between offers and demands of training. If, during the successive confinements imposed by the health crisis, many have the health crisis, many experienced distance learning as a constraint, but many are now considering a distance course rather than an in-person one.

But what works well for a training course time-limited training course comes at a high cost when you have to make a commitment for several months. The cost is also often considered too high when the training is only one option among many. For everyone, time is of the essence.

Yes, training costs, and we are not only talking about the financial aspect financial aspect here. If we look at the advice provided online to prospective learners online , we see that they are being asked to make significant changes in their life and to mobilize strong cognitive functions for long periods of time. long periods of time.

At the other end of the chain, on the side of the training designers, there are more and more tips and designers, tips and tricks are multiplying to facilitate learner engagement learners (here for example, there, or there, among many, many other suggestions). Training is not easier than being form.

The value of service

Training is an economic sector that has structured itself over time and is experiencing welcome revolutions. But, in this sector as in most of those affected by the phenomenon of uberization, individuals are paying a high price. On the side of the "knowers," first of all: employees will hardly find the time to create training for their peers; yesterday's trainers must now improvise themselves as designers and and mediators of their training.

On the side of the "learners", then: select their content while avoiding the traps of marketing, assembling the modules, organizing oneself at home rather than in the middle of a community, and taking responsibility for any failure on your own. failure...

Let's not forget: training is, still mostly, a service. To be of service is to relieve someone of a difficult or untimely task. It means lightening the load of a busy day, mobilizing a skill to solve a problem. to solve a problem. So yes, we are probably "all trainers", in absolute terms. trainers", in the absolute sense. We are certainly capable of organizing ourselves to learn alone. organize ourselves to learn alone. But we can also not deprive ourselves of the pleasure of being of service, and of enjoying the service rendered.

Illustration: DepositPhotos - kentoh

References

"The uberization and digitization of the world are leading to the disappearance of the wage-earning world." Eugenie Boilait, Le Figaro, 07/15/2022.
https://www.lefigaro.fr/vox/economie/l-uberisation-et-la-numerisation-du-monde-entrainent-la-disparition-du-monde-salarie-20220715

"How to uberize training?" By Stéphane Diebold. HR Focus, 06/01/2020.
https://www.focusrh.com/tribunes/comment-uberiser-la-formation-par-stephane-diebold-32574.html

"Uberization and trends in professional training, by Denis Jacquet." Akto, 12/21/2020.
https://www.akto.fr/uberisation-tendances-formation-professionnelle-denis-jacquet/

"Is the Global Uberization of Higher Education Ethical? " Simone de Colle, The Conversation, 26/01/2022.
https://theconversation.com/luberisation-mondiale-de-lenseignement-superieur-est-elle-ethique-174310

"How Safran reached 136,000 digital training hours in just 1 year." Sophie Torre, 360 Learning.
https://360learning.com/fr/blog/entreprise-apprenante-safran-formation-digitale/

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