No time to learn? Avans University of Applied Sciences found the solution

Learning and development is an important theme at Avans University of Applied Sciences. But how do you ensure that employees also have access to relevant content, in a way that suits their busy workday? In collaboration with SkillsTown, Avans made personal development and vitality accessible to all employees in an accessible and flexible way. The result? High engagement, measurable impact and a solid foundation for lifelong learning. Wondering how Avans approached this? Read the customer case!

Why lifelong learning is central at Avans

Avans Hogeschool is an educational institution in the south of the Netherlands. The college's mission is to educate agile and sustainable professionals who actively contribute to the future. Lifelong development is highly valued within Avans. The organization operates on the basis of three core values: ambitious, personal and socially engaged.

To better support its employees, Avans wanted to enrich the existing learning offering with accessible and relevant content around personal development and vitality. In collaboration with SkillsTown, a pilot was set up to investigate whether online learning offered the right solution. That collaboration quickly grew into a great success.

How do you make personal development accessible to everyone?

Avans has long wanted to pay more attention to personal development and vitality within its learning and development offerings. Especially for employees, these themes are important for their well-being and daily functioning. The main challenge: how do we offer accessible, high-quality content in a way that meets the needs of our employees at any time, in their own time and at their own pace?

This included a practical consideration: developing in-house content was too costly. Traditional multi-day training courses were expensive and not always suited to employees' workloads or preferences. So there was a need for a flexible,
scalable and financially viable alternative.

"We wanted to make learning more accessible. Employees should be able to learn when and where they want, without barriers or complicated processes."

Rob van den Goorbergh, career coach

"Previously, we offered 3- or 4-day trainings. That was intensive and expensive. Now with SkillsTown we have a much cheaper and more flexible solution."

Koen Vinkenvleugel, career coach

The solution: flexible and accessible learning for all

To support employees' development needs in an accessible way, Avans chose to partner with SkillsTown. The approach below shows how this solution was rolled out in practice.

- Start with a focused pilot: in December 2023, Avans launched a pilot in collaboration with SkillsTown. The focus was on two main themes: personal development and vitality & well-being.
- Access for 500 employees: in the first phase, 500 licenses were made available. Employees were given one-click access to SkillsTown's full offering, including e-learnings, videos and microlearnings. The learning platform was integrated into the in-house offering and proved immediately accessible and user-friendly.
- Fully in line with 70-20-10: the approach aligned perfectly with Avans' 70-20-10 learning principle: 70% learning on the job, 20% learning from and with colleagues, and 10% through formal training. SkillsTown was a practical and flexible addition to this model.
- From classroom to continuous: where previously multi-day classroom training was required, Avans now uses an accessible and scalable online platform. Employees can learn at their own time and pace, matching their needs and workload.

The result: from pilot to platform for all

The successful pilot quickly grew into a widely supported learning solution within Avans. The results below show how the platform is now embedded in the organization.
- Explosive growth in usage: within a month of its launch, the platform already exceeded expectations. The goal of a minimum of 500 active users was amply met, forcing Avans to create additional accounts. The platform is now available to all employees thanks to an unlimited number of licenses.
- Learning at your own time and pace: 62% of employees use the platform during working hours, while 24% choose to learn in their own time. Flexibility proves to be a key success factor.
- High employee satisfaction: more than 60% of users are satisfied with the platform. The convenience and relevance of the content are often mentioned as plus points. The accessibility of the platform, the relevance of the content and the possibility to learn at one's own time and pace, are appreciated within the organization.
- SkillsTown's offerings are now integrated into their own offerings: It is proving to be a valuable addition. Important here was that the offer and the communication about it is in line with current topics of Avans.
- Development as a fixed component: online learning is now an important part of Avans' development culture. Personal development and vitality are no longer separate initiatives, but really part of the daily work.

Lifelong learning for all

The partnership with SkillsTown fits well with Avans University of Applied Sciences' long-term strategy: to strengthen agility, sustainable employability and personal growth in both students and employees. With this approach, Avans contributes to a culture in which lifelong learning is also a matter of course for the organization itself. The low-threshold learning solution makes it possible for every employee to develop in a way that suits their work and life.