Researching the impact of COVID-19 on the future workplace

A project which is assessing the future workplace as a result of COVID-19 has received funding from the OU’s Rapid Response scheme.

Dr Hilary Collins, Senior Lecturer Corporate Programmes in the OU’s Faculty of Business and Law has received £7,500 to assess the impact of COVID-19 on Continuing Professional Development (CPD) requirements for organisational development in the UK.

A key output of this research will be a new Micro credential: Management of change: organisation development and design, which will be available in March 2021 to organisations researched who have identified a training deficit and individual learners.

The project has already run one workshop in Scotland to discuss the training needs of alumina from creative industries and another will take place with employers in January and more with the other nations throughout the year.

Dr Collins said:

“This project is based on a need to research the underpinning developing changes and requirements for organisational development skills and interventions. There is a large overlap between jobs at risk due to COVID-19 in the short term and jobs displaced by automation in the longer term. Many of the jobs that employers might need to fill by 2030 require a higher level of skills.”