2020 has been dominated by both COVID-19 and change. These changes can be found in our day to day personal and professional life. 

Here are a few changes that may have affected you and your business:

• New Operational Structures
  Many organisations now have teams that work either entirely or partly from home. This can make communication and collaboration more difficult, making it an opportunity for employees to learn new skills.
   
• Financial Support for Employers
  Since the furlough scheme was announced in March, almost 10 million jobs were furloughed. The furlough scheme was introduced to aid job retention however, it is likely that when employees do return to work, their skills will be outdated and they will be expected to quickly and successfully adapt to the post-COVID environment.

These changes pose an important question on whether we should continue training through COVID-19?

The first few months have shown that the fire industry's answer is a clear yes.

Here is why training during the current situation could be an ideal time:

• 'New skills demand
  Employees now need a different skill set than they did pre-COVID, meaning that organisations are at risk of a skills shortage if they don’t upskill and reskill their teams.
   
• Furlough
  Many employees across the nation are still furloughed, meaning they have a lot of spare time; a great way to utilise this spare time is to learn new skills to prepare for the return to work.'

Our COVID-19 report highlighted the importance of businesses retraining and upskilling your staff and our industry-leading training covers the breadth of the fire industry and is the go-to place for your companies fire-related training.