Dive Brief:

• Paychex announced its newest tool for HR professionals and business, Paychex Learning, which adds a learning management system to its suite. The tool provides businesses with a "simple and affordable learning tool." Paychex's own 2018 Pulse HR Survey revealed almost 60% of businesses struggle to find and hire qualified candidates in this increasingly tight labor market. The new platform aims to help businesses create environments in which employees can develop the skills they naturally posses and acquire new ones.
• The platform can be used in concert with Paychex's performance management solutions, the company said. When administrators submit performance reviews of employees, they can identify areas for growth and set relevant training requirements to address gaps in knowledge, training and skills.
• Administrators can access pre-loaded learning modules on Paychex Learning. But businesses also have the option to create original content, as well, including the ability to upload videos and import third-party content.

Dive Insight:

The skills gap occupies the minds of many U.S. employers. The challenge to hire good talent in an employee's job market has pushed businesses to hone in on training as a major retention tactic. Thus, the learning market has seen a serious boom as more employers seek solutions. Online providers like Adobe and Skillsoft and, now, Paychex have joined the e-learning sector of the market to cater to companies who need to involve a third party to keep pace with learning demand.

LinkedIn offers its LinkedIn Learning, which enables companies to understand which functions are growing and which skills are being required in job postings. Beauty retailer Estee Lauder announced in August that it will partner with LinkedIn Learning to offer the professional networking site's course database to many of its full-time employees and permanent office staff.

For other companies, training takes on a more niche and highly specialized form, often requiring increasing partnership with the government and other companies. Ohioans now have the opportunity to train for jobs in the medical cannabis industry in a state-licensed school, for example — a way at least one emerging trade may define how training will look for many employers in the future. 

As employers work to give employees credentials and even train up potential hires, employers are finding a wealth of ways to focus on training. The challenge employers may face with L&D, however, may be to curate learning to keep staffers from being overwhelmed.