We have been delivering our Courses online for the best part of 10 years now and over that period of time we have discovered that online learners tend to have some very valuable traits. Not every student who enrols in a course with us has these traits to begin with though. What we have discovered is that our students are developing and building on these skills as they work through the courses we offer. This happens naturally, as this style of study demands certain things of you and also because we offer our students tips and strategies that help them to develop these traits along the way and thereby, manage their online learning successfully.
This is fantastic news for anyone undertaking an online course, because these traits I am referring to won’t just help you successfully complete a course, they will also attract the attention of potential employers and serve you incredibly well in the Wedding and Event workplace. Oh and they will also be useful to you as a business owner and employer yourself.
So what are the top 3 qualities online learners have that employers value?
Online learners are organised and know how to manage their time effectively
Online learners don’t have someone monitoring and scheduling their study habits in the same way that face to face learners to do. When you attend face-to-face classes your study schedule is all mapped out for you and you will generally have due dates for every piece of assessment. You will also be surrounded by other students and Lecturers whose presence and conversations will remind you regularly of what you need to do and by when. But all that disappears with self-paced online learning like what we offer here at the Academy. In this scenario you set your own schedule and due dates for submitting assessment work. You need to ensure you are managing your own time and completing the work and generally you will be juggling these activities with other responsibilities. Whilst not every student starts out being organised and able to effectively manage the time they have, to get through the course, this is a trait they soon find themselves developing.
Whilst being organised and able to manage your time will serve you well in just about every work environment, working in weddings and events, demands it.
Online Learners are Motivated
Almost every job advertisement lists this as a highly desirable quality. Being a motivated individual means you are positive and persistent and willing to put yourself out there to achieve results and what employer wouldn’t want an employee like that. Likewise, if you are in business for yourself; you won’t survive a week if you can’t motivate yourself to go to work everyday, even though no one is asking you to and even though there may not be a paying client as yet.
A successful online learner is likely to be a fairly motivated individual to begin with, but even if you are not, it is a trait you can develop. Setting yourself mini goals for completing tasks within the course, devising a plan for how you will achieve them and then sticking to the plan no matter what, will teach you a lot about how to motivate yourself and make you a highly valuable employee in the process.
Online Learners are Effective Communicators
This is another trait that almost every employer is looking for and again, it is one that you will find yourself developing throughout your course, if you don’t already possess it.
Successful online learners tend to be very good at asking questions when they do not understand something, or need further clarification. In the absence of a class-room and lectures to attend there is no other way to confirm your understanding of what you are learning, or get a question answered, than to simply communicate. Employers value employees who know when to ask questions and how to ask them in a way that gets the answer they need the first time.
Online learners also tend to be good at getting their point across effectively, because when you are not in front of the person you are speaking to, you can’t rely on body language and facial expressions to help you. What you say, or what you write is where it starts and stops and online learners soon discover the importance of being articulate. Their course work also gives them opportunities to communicate through their written work and the simple act of writing regularly is hugely beneficial in terms of improving your ability to communicate effectively.
It is like this in business too. The people you seek to do business with are just as busy as you. They appreciate effective communication because it saves time and gets everyone on the same page very quickly, whilst avoiding mis-understandings, time wasting and even costly mistakes.
If you are working through an online course at the moment and need help with developing any of these highly desirable traits, contact your Tutor or email me.
