This year’s Learning at Work Week (LAWW) in the UK runs from 18 to 24 May, and the theme is ‘Many ways to learn’.

It feels like some organisations still behave as if learning mainly happens through provision. Courses, sessions, content, classes, workshops, e-learning modules, lunch and learn… The list is, in some cases, endless.

The danger is LAWW becomes performative – the week becomes a showcase of what’s on offer.

In reality, most learning at work happens elsewhere. People learn by solving problems with colleagues, adapting what they see working, watching how experienced people handle situations, and iterating under pressure. Those routes rarely get recognised, even though they do most of the heavy lifting.

The opportunity in Learning at Work Week is not to add more formats but to make these learning routes visible and legitimate. To help people see that learning is not something delivered to them, but something they already do in different ways.

Formats still have a place, but they work best as tools people choose when they need them, not as the centre of the story.

If many ways to learn IS taken seriously, the focus shifts from what’s being offered to how people actually develop capability at work.

#WorkplaceLearning #LearningCulture #OrganisationalCapability