A frequently asked question during recession is: Why is training required during the uncertain economic times? To answer this, one more question comes to my mind, ‘why do we send our child to school during recession?’ 

“Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at 20 or 80. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young”.

When we wake up every morning with a new idea, organisations also need to have young minds to not only innovate but to sustain that innovation, compete and flourish. If learning is that important, why wouldn’t we learn during recession? 

In this turbulent economic times, where macro factors of an environment are having a powerful impact on an organisation. An organisation needs to remain young by its people. Economic uncertainties are vicious circle. History has proved that this vicious circle comes and goes on its own time. In booming economic scenarios, the major forces in an environment are so demanding that that you continuously and consistently perform to match up the demand. There is no time to learn because of pressure.

The economic uncertainty makes companies realise that economic challenges demand a more targeted approach to talent management. Economy uncertainty is a time where not only training across hierarchies develop competencies of people but also the senior professional (leaders, realised they need specialise skills in general management and leadership).In fact, recession is the right time to learn and relearn. 

Learning doesn’t stop with economic uncertainties. This is the time that gives you an opportunity to prepare yourself for the most competitive markets. This is a time that organisations can strategise and plan one of the most robust learning environments in an organisation through training.

Training does not make them learn but motivate them to stand headstrong during recession. The leaders of the organisation need to realise that lay-off is not a solution to economic uncertainties but to retain and sustain the workforce is the key for future. Training gives an opportunity to create a strong workforce, a learned workforce that will be ready to take the world irrespective the economic situations. 

Therefore, training is a need of an hour because it’s now or never. This is the right time for organisations to introspect and realise their learning needs. They need to build the intellect of their people. Organisations have a chance to build a learning organisation by encouraging transfer of learning, motivating employees to learn and implement in an organisation. For the organisations not doing and finding economic uncertainty as curse, is doing nothing but finding an excuse of not building an organisation standing on strong roots of learning.

While many organisations are just trying to sustain and think about future in this economic uncertainty, you gear up to utilise the best of it by training and learning and become one of the most intellectual organisations.