Changing careers to change the world

Change is inevitable. The ability to adjust to change and to meet new challenges is more essential than even in ensuring success for businesses and organisations. Regulation, industrial disruption and the difficulties imposed by Covid-19 are just a few examples of situations that businesses have had to adapt to, all of them requiring new skills to meet these new challenges. How can companies ensure that their staff have the skills to thrive in these new situations?

To meet these challenges, Learning and Development has become more important than ever - organisations have to be able to equip their staff with the skills they need to succeed in a shifting landscape. Creating the programs to deliver these skills takes qualified, experienced Learning Designers - people who can develop learning that drives the results businesses need for success.

For learning design and technology company Guroo Producer, having talented Learning Designers is vital for them and their clients, but finding qualified designers with the right combination of skills and experience often proved difficult. Already experienced in creating reskilling programs in areas such as data and risk management, Guroo looked at how they could benefit internally from their reskilling experience.

To create the next generation of learning designers Guroo Producer started the Learning Design Graduate Program, a chance for people with an interest in learning to shift careers into a path they might not have considered.

Guroo Producer COO Donna Hanson-Squires says, “Many people don’t realise learning design is a possible career option, and those who are interested often find it difficult to find roles without previous experience. The program allows recent grads, or those reskilling, a chance to see if learning design is a good fit for them, and get the experience they need to get their new career underway.”

The Graduate Program looks for enthusiastic, talented people with skills in research and communication from a range of degree and career backgrounds, including teaching, arts, communications, journalism, business and IT. Participants undertake a structured 12-month program which provides experience in scoping, designing, and developing learning for a wide range of organisations and learners.

Participant Colette Walsh is pleased with her experiences so far. “Coming from an education background, I was initially attracted by Guroo Producer’s learner-centric approach to education, which resonated with my own values as an educator. The Graduate Program impressed me with its structured approach to learning design and the opportunity to contribute to real-life projects from the outset.”