Let’s get started on tomorrow, today

16 September, 2020

As we prepare for life after the pandemic, we will need to adopt new ways of doing things that may be very different from how we did them in the past. Nikesh Mistry*, Gambica’s sector head for industrial automation, looks at some of the new technologies, work practices and approaches to training that will be vital in the post-Covid era.

By now you will have heard many different theories on what a post Covid-19 world may look like. The silver lining is that they are still merely theories at this stage, and it is too early to say exactly what may unfold.

Nevertheless, there are some things that we have already realised during the pandemic that will help to shape the future. For example, digitalisation is already proving to be playing an increasingly important role during these challenging times.

We are facing a variety of challenges on all fronts, both economic and political. To overcome these challenges, businesses may or may not be able to solve their problems with methods that they might have used before. New ways of thinking need to be unlocked to shed light on the “new normal”.

The global pandemic has accelerated the uptake of e-commerce and digital technologies both at home for individuals, and in the workplace. Most of these technologies were available before the pandemic, but were perhaps overlooked due either to our mindset or our capacity. Covid-19 has forced new methods to be adopted to help us adapt to the new future.

One key example is training and teaching techniques. Companies are being forced to find modern approaches to upskilling their workforce to close gaps of competency that are, in some cases, getting wider.

Advances in the fourth industrial revolution using technologies such as digital twins, artificial intelligence and the cloud, are now enabling companies to maximise the output from e-learning using much more interactive approaches that apply digital techniques to training formats that are beginning to show their age.

While, of course, many may argue that nothing beats the traditional form of learning in person on the job, unfortunately that has not been an option for many in recent times, and there has been no alternative but to resort to other forms of teaching and training that are more appropriate to our current predicament.

The pandemic has made it necessary for companies to try to improve their efficiencies at a time when their budgets have been reduced. This almost seems to be an impossible task. However, online developments and the reduced costs of travel and accommodation mean there may be room for flexibility within organisations.

Let’s get started on tomorrow, today

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