
9 Benefits of Virtual Cloud Labs for Employee Training and Assessment
Introduction
Digital technology has made every piece of knowledge handy in recent years. Information and data are made available to millions of online users through cloud technology. The process of transferring knowledge and data over the cloud seamlessly requires a robust cloud infrastructure. This is a huge challenge for training organizations across the globe. When it comes to employee training and assessment, the transition from physical classroom training to virtual cloud labs requires a successful full-proof cloud strategy.
In this article, we’ll understand more about virtual cloud labs that facilitate employee engagement, and how organizations can benefit by integrating online labs into their learning and development platforms.
What are Virtual Labs?
Virtual labs are online environments that help employees have hands-on experience with softwares that they’ll likely use at work. As the labs are cloud-enabled, learners experience immersive hands-on training on various software scenarios to help them gain practical skills and knowledge. Another big advantage of these cloud labs is that they can be accessed from anywhere and at anytime.
How Important are Virtual Cloud Labs for Employee Training
Traditional employee training programs result in unnecessary costs and resources for organizations as they require employees to be retrained from time to time. Virtual cloud labs for employee training solve this problem effortlessly because the teachings are stored on the cloud and employees can access them anytime & anywhere. Moreover, they can be expanded to include new employees. This will eventually increase the efficiency and effectiveness of training programs, reducing the costs. When it comes to setting up virtual labs, organizations need not purchase dedicated servers and other IT resources for training purposes. It’s just that leaders in the organization should just be willing to make the transition from traditional training methods to virtual labs.
9 Benefits of Virtual Cloud Labs for Employee Training & Assessment
With several benefits of virtual labs, the most critical ones are the ability to scale and expand employee training and assessment as the organization grows.
Let’s look at some benefits of virtual labs for employee training and assessment –
- They provide personalized training
As an organization, you can create a personalized cloud-based learning environment with the click of a button using virtual labs. You can also deliver as many virtual environments as you need with different versions and difficulty levels like beginner, intermediate, and advanced. These cloud labs allow you to deliver knowledge that is tailored to specific groups with highly personalized teachings at various entry points.
- They render exceptional learning experiences
Employees can learn necessary skills at their own pace and explore various sections of courses for as long as they need. Cloud labs for employee training improve the quality of their education. Several cloud-enabled features that support visual concepts and experiments help employees enhance their learning experience. Incorporating virtual labs with immersive VR environments makes learning more engaging. The outcome of such employee engagement enables learners to gain better understanding of core technical concepts.
- They help to achieve training goals effortlessly
Virtual labs help employees achieve their learning and development goals and improve performance. The use of cloud labs for employee training over traditional classroom training methods facilitates employees to prioritize the learning content and accomplish their goal faster. Doing so will bring a tangible and positive impact on the organization’s learning and development programs.
- They help to assess employee training impact
Virtual cloud labs with in-built analytics features let you access learners’ labs remotely and track learner progress. You can track the number of courses consumed, how many times an employee has accessed the course, and the time spent. These data points will help you prepare a detailed assessment report, which is a deciding factor for optimizing tech course content.
- They Accelerate software adoption
Virtual labs allow employees to learn software tools by doing. . The experiential way of learning helps them become familiar with using the software. The immersive hands-on training will provide a detailed understanding of product features, functionalities, and how to use them regularly. Virtual cloud labs also offer more fun ways to learn the software so that users complete more training courses and progress at a robust pace.
- Minimize IT resource consumption
Virtual labs are hosted by cloud solution providers to ease the burden on an organization’s IT resources. Instead of depending on the IT department for any support to set up a software lab, a virtual cloud lab can create a cloud-based learning environment with a click of a button. These labs can be scaled up or down to meet employees’ needs without much help from IT support teams. Course creators can make any modifications through an admin panel without the help of developers. As such, organizations can also choose to hire developer(s) to maintain the virtual lab for employee engagement and training needs.
- They eliminate the need for physical infrastructure
Virtual cloud labs for employee assessment and training eliminate the need for physical infrastructure. This increases team collaboration and communication among learners and mentors at a global level. Virtual cloud labs connect employees across different geographical locations with a learning environment. Additionally, virtual robust labs harness creativity and curiosity to help employees gain hands-on experience using virtual experiments.
- They are driven by advanced technologies
With the inception of advanced technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), augmented reality (AR) and robotics, virtual cloud labs for employee assessment and training have complemented the learning experience to a great level. For instance, AR can be used to enhance the visualization aspect of software elements, materials etc. AI can be used to create simulations and find solutions to problems
- They Provide Employees with 24/7 help
If your employees are working with a client abroad, they may need some technical assistance online. They may rely on the IT support team for any troubleshooting even though their hours may differ from yours. Virtual cloud labs solve this problem easily for organizations operating in different geographical locations. 24/7 help is highly beneficial for employees who work unconventional hours or in different time zones.
Virtual Labs are designed to overcome the below limitations of traditional software labs:
- High infrastructure and maintenance cost
- Setting up an on-site training session
- Time-bound training sessions
- Installing software on the learner’s laptop
- More theory and less practical due to lack of time
- Physical presence of mentors and learners
- Learning methodologies that are not learner-specific, but generic
The Final Word
Organizations that are looking to transform employee training and assess their growth need to make use of virtual cloud labs. Cloud lab platforms help employees learn IT skills and gain hands-on experience online. They offer no limitations on what employees can explore and experiment with respect to a particular task. The understanding of what a virtual cloud lab environment can offer to employee training and assessment helps to minimize training costs and enhance the efficiency of the business.
Train Your Employees with Practical Skills Using Cloud-enabled Learning Platform
MakeMyLabs, a cloud-enabled learning platform, is built to enable your workforce to develop strong proficiencies with a library of over 2000+ virtual tech labs. If your employees want to learn IT skills, the platform offers personalized cloud-based lab environments across 1000+ technologies, where employees can learn through interactive and experiential learning. experiments. Moreover, you can execute learning and development operations effectively with minimum costs remotely using virtual labs.