YouTube is a powerful L&D resource for younger employees.

Every generation learns differently, so companies need to utilise the liking of Gen Z for online video content.

Generation Z, which comprises those born after 1997, will account for almost a quarter of the workforce by 2025. They are the oldest, best informed, and most diverse generation ever and their impact on society will be felt for many years in the future. Their viewpoints and experiences would change everything ranging from politics and business to culture and global warming.

Gen Z is the first generation that has truly grown up in the internet age and they love YouTube more than anything else. The younger generations especially teenagers have been attracted to YouTube just as Gen X or Baby Boomers were hooked on TV when growing up. Why? What is attracting them? There are two main reasons. YouTube is an amazing source of entertainment as well as educational materials. As every good educator knows, extraordinary things occur whenever learning mixes with fun.

In the last decade, YouTube has changed how people learn and how instructors teach. This connection has been supported by independent research. According to a recent study conducted by Think with Google, 68% of teenagers from Generation Z believe that they have developed or learned skills that will be useful in their future lives through YouTube while 80% of Generation Z consider themselves knowledgeable about something because of it.

Consider what “Study with Me” videos did to keep students motivated during the COVID-19 pandemic period. Thus millions of new educational YouTubers emerged alongside Khan Academy who help learners with their academics, hobbies, art talents, science, entrepreneurship, self-care, etc. Because of this, other online video learning platforms like Udemy, Coursera, and Udacity emerged.

But it goes beyond Generation Z.

YouTube has a much larger target audience and is very effective at getting young people to learn. According to the site’s data, even 72% of users aged between 36 and 55 have learning as their ultimate goal.

While Matthew Syed and Malcolm Gladwell are well-known here, there is also a new batch of YouTube stars who talk about productivity and self-help that has millions of subscribers. These content creators serve audiences that are greatly diverse in race, age, and gender. Examples include Lavendaire, Thomas Frank, Matt D'Avella, Jay Shetty, and Ali Abdaal. By making YouTube the central point of a future-focused learning approach L&D professionals can engage employees from all ages, backgrounds, or origins.

The educational potential on YouTube is simply amazing especially since it’s free. Why do they work so well for education? The fact that Youtube attracts some of the most innovative creators of educational videos and leading education authorities makes it very enticing to the audiences. Some people argue that the best YouTube content is far better than anything you will find in siloed institutions of learning. Importantly it remains one of its major advantages today during a period when “leveling up” is such a leading national goal.
The Internet has been called “the great leveler”. If you do some research you will find out that the quality of content available especially on You Tube is excellent by far. This allows for mass free education. As Salman Khan – the founder of Khan Academy, the largest school in the world both off & online states; “Writing was starting to be invented around this time”. Eventually, YouTube would join writing in books and printing press as one thing that ushered in free access for everyone to higher quality learning materials ever before seen historically.

This does not mean there are no other advantages associated with it. The video format also makes learning easier by providing physical accessibility too so people know what they are studying. Videos contain a wider variety of learning needs and styles than traditional classrooms. Some people do not like reading books and manuals, but YouTube is fast and simple to operate. You can take notes, stop the videos, rewind, and replay individual clips as many times as you want.

It’s a shame fewer organisations use the available resources given that L&D budgets are so tight during this time caused of the pandemic. Most corporate training occurs in boardrooms and exclusive content databases. How can companies utilize the largest and best learning resource in history?

How to maximise the educational material on YouTube

Because there is so much content on this platform, content curation is the single most crucial component. The whole YouTube content has to be searched, sieved, sorted, and placed into context to meet business training needs. There are tools today that can ease this process. Think about incorporating news events with essential subjects in themed weeks; two examples are corporate sustainability and health and wellbeing.

This way, it won’t take long for individuals to start focusing on self-improvement and continuous education which is critical in achieving career success, adapting to changes, and advancing organisations.