#N4L: Simon B Says…

.–part of the N4L Series; celebrating Learning at Work Week-

It’s my great pleasure to introduce Simon Bland…

About Simon

Economic Prosperity Programme Manager at Reigate and Banstead Borough Council.  My focus is on helping local businesses start, develop and grow and developing support networks.

Simon on Twitter    |    Simon on LinkedIn

What networked for learning means to me

Networked for learning means being engaged in a community that not only allows you to learn, but also stimulates and encourages that process.  Building a network of inspiring individuals all committed to their own, and others, development ensures that new stimulus is never far away.

Being open to new ideas and curious about the work of others enables continuous learning and development.  The more you learn the more interesting things become, leading to increased curiosity.  A network should initially be built on quality, rather than quantity.  However this core group will all have their own networks of inspiring contacts.

You will become part of these communities over time.  Meet people, ask questions and show an interest.  Develop the habit of using your interactions to inquire, rather than to tell or sell, and to share learning with others.

Being networked for learning is as much about the learning of the network as the individual.

My personal learning insights

It has recently become apparent to me that for ‘flexible’ working to truly work, and offer opportunities to those currently outside the employment market, employers will have to profoundly improve their ability to manage individuals work load.  It is not enough to offer roles on a 0.8 full-time-equivalent basis if the post holder has to spend their evenings trying to catch up with the work they couldn’t compete in the day.

We have a culture where employees in some sectors often work for 40 or 50 hours to deliver their objectives, with the organisations they work in accepting this as the norm.  This situation clearly undermines the opportunities open to any candidate who might only able commit to 25 or 30 hours per week.  This learning will help me in my conversations with local employers looking to attract high quality employees.