Learning and development (L&D) is critical for the newest generation of workers, Gen Z, to get a good value proposition from their workplace. While the want of L&D from Gen Z may be familiar to every other generation, Gen Z comes from a very specific socioeconomic and cultural situation that shapes their desired employee experience.

Gen Z was the first generation to grow up fully with the internet and mobile devices while dealing with multiple recessions, rising college tuition and unattainable housing prices. The result is a unique form of fatalism, where the next generation does not believe that their employers will provide them with a “typical” career path of the generations before that.

Emphasis on Skills Development

According to LinkedIn, 76% of Gen Z learners believe that learning is the key to a successful career — a fact that’s reinforced with the statistics of Gen Z watching over 50% more hours of online courses than any generation before them. While the latter could be explained away by Gen Z being the most online than any other working generation, it does show an attitude toward developing skills.

All of this culminates with Gen Z placing a higher importance of upskilling, training and development, and investment in employees. Gen Z has consistently rated skill development and compensation among their most important factors for choosing a job. Both reflect on the internet culture and economic factors the generation was raised in.

The lasting effect is that L&D is essential for creating a worthwhile employee experience for the next group of workers — even if they have plans for beyond that workplace. While having learning opportunities will attract Gen Z, the way the content is delivered may be a determining factor of what keeps them engaged.

How Does Gen Z Want to Learn?

This data suggests that Gen Z will be more comfortable with interactive, social and technology-based forms of learning than the generations before them. Which is not surprising when Gen Z grew up in schools that regularly integrated technology and collaborative learning into curriculums. However, just being comfortable with something doesn’t inherently make it enjoyable or effective. It’s important to remember Gen Z’s learning preferences.

Lectures are out.

Only 12% of Gen Z learners prefer lectures, so avoid the long-winded drone of explanations. They’d much rather learn it themselves via personalized, self-paced online courses.

Microlearning matches media expectations.

The content that Gen Z consumes is often very attention-grabbing and shortform — over half of them rate YouTube and TikTok as their most used social media platforms. As such, their training should reflect this in the form of microlearning, bite-sized chunks of learning content.

Don’t ignore mobile.

Much of Gen Z grew up with smartphones and that may be how most of them interact with the internet. If training doesn’t work on mobile, it will be much less accessible or appealing to Gen Z.

Mixing everything.

Gen Z prefers short-form, engaging content, which is why lectures are the least popular way for them to learn. Part of the reason why Gen Z likes platforms like TikTok is because the videos are long enough to get the point across, but short enough to not be a big time commitment. This mentality is reflected in this generation preferring mobile devices, as they can use their phones almost everywhere and very easily, lessening the perceived commitment.

Not actually commitment issues.

Referring to Gen Z as wanting less commitment is only telling a half-truth. It is not a commitment they are afraid of, but the wrong commitment that wastes their already spread-thin time. With so much information coming at them from countless sources and outlets, they have learned to pick and choose which they commit to.

Both too much and too little choice.

Gen Z is the most stressed and anxious generation to date, with 70% of them reporting that anxiety and depression are a significant problem among their peers. The demands, distractions and stressors for Gen Z are vast.

Like millennials before them, many have given up on achievable things of older generations and struggle to find balance in their personal and work lives. As such, it should be no surprise that they can make for skeptical employees.

This skepticism, mixed with Gen Z’s want to learn, is exactly why companies should start investing more into learning and development so new talent can be drawn in and won over by the employee experience. Gen Z grew up in an unstable world, and they want to regain some of that stability in the workplace with an employer who is investing in them through learning opportunities.