So what are people doing during quarantine?

David Garcia, PR and digital marketing specialist with findcourses.co.uk, is able to reveal some of the answers.
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“We surveyed our users and found that people are now more likely to search for any type of learning than before. This means that people will spend their time doing courses and training during the lockdown. Reasons are explained in the results.

“We're working hard to measure the impact COVID-19 is having on learning and with the help of our users, we've been able to pull out some preliminary trends on the impact of coronavirus on our ability to learn, our motivation to learn and our learning priorities.”

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The headline statistics from http://findcourses.co.uk so far are:

People still want to learn. 45 per cent of people say they expect to learn more in the next three months due to COVID-19.

“People's motivations for learning are changing. We're now motivated by the want to help our communities as well as to make use of the time we've found ourselves with.

“But our priorities when it comes to learning are changing. Safety is at the forefront of many learners’ minds and they are looking to online courses or heavily-reduced classroom sizes to reflect a shift towards social distancing.”

David has released an overview of the key findings:

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Q: Would you say the coronavirus (COVID-19) has made you more or less likely to learn something in the next 3 months?

45% of respondents said they were more likely to learn in the next three months due to COVID-19, whereas 29% stated they were unsure.

For the 45% that said they were more likely to learn in the next three months, 56% already preferred online learning as a learning method, with one user saying, "Because I am already learning online and have been for almost one year now, the coronavirus won't really affect my learning. I’ve still got a few more years of learning to go as well."

For those that were unsure, 60% of them wanted training providers to do more to highlight online and virtual options and 29% wanted free re-booking options to help them make an informed decision in the coming months.

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Q: Why do you think you are more likely to study in the next 3 months?

Of those who say they expect to learn more because of COVID-19, 53% say this is because they will have more time to be able to dedicate to learning. For others, there is a real focus on employability and job-seeking ability with their learning: with 34% wanting to train to become more valuable to their current employers and 23% to help with their job-seeking efforts.

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Q: What are you looking to learn in the coming months?

There is a swing towards management training, as well as a focus on qualifications and skills in what learners plan to focus on in the coming months.

Leadership, named one of the Top 5 soft skills in our 2019 Learning and Development report has been overshadowed in the wake of COVID-19 by management and engineering.

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Q: Why do you think you are less likely to study in the next three months?

For those that expect to study less in the coming months, stress is a big concern. People also cited feeling distracted and unable to focus due to the uncertainly of the situation as one of the major reasons they will not be studying as much in the coming months.

For some working in the healthcare sector, time will be the biggest barrier to learning, with 12% of respondents saying they will have less time to study.

Some users also stated that they needed more personalised face-to-face support in order to get the most out of learning. This might be an opportunity for some training providers to focus on a one-to-one tuition experience virtually to support these learners.

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Q: How are your learning and development activities being impacted in the short-term?

Most training, it seems, will happen as planned: either further into the future or as an online course. Only 19% of respondents reported that they have cancelled all training, compared to just over 80% who have moved it online.*

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Q: Is there anything our training providers could do that would make you feel more comfortable with booking a course?

An overwhelming majority of users wanted training providers to switch their classes to online versions, or to provide information about virtual classroom options. Other ways that learners can feel more comfortable with booking training is if the provider offers free re-booking or makes changes to their cancellation policy in light of COVID-19.

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A message from the Editor, Gary Shipton:

Thank you for reading this story on our website.

But I also have an urgent plea to make of you.

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In order for us to continue to provide high quality local news on this free-to-read site and in print, please purchase a copy of our newspaper as well. With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on our town centres and many of our valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you buying a copy.

Our journalists are highly trained by the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ) and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards anywhere in the world. Our content is universally trusted - as all independent research proves.

As Baroness Barran said in a House of Lords debate this week on the importance of journalists: "Not only are they a trusted source of facts, but they will have a role to play in rallying communities and getting the message across about how we can keep ourselves and our families safe, and protect our NHS. Undoubtedly, they have a critical role."

But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis. In return we will continue to forensically cover the local news - not only the impact of the virus but all the positive and uplifting news happening in these dark days.

We thank all our readers and advertisers for their understanding and support - and we wish YOU all the best in the coming weeks. Keep safe, and follow the Government advice. Thank you.

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