Reskilling is high on the agenda for many organisations, but how do you do it reliably—and at scale? In this episode, Molly Howes returns to share the incredible progress of the Aviva Foundry, an ambitious initiative to upskill employees from Customer Support roles into Digital careers, alongside Alex Price, who was a successful participant in the program.
They discuss what’s changed since their last appearance, the processes that have made large-scale reskilling successful, and how they’ve ensured employees aren’t just exposed to learning but are truly ready for new roles. They also dive into the challenges of expanding the program internationally, launching new initiatives like the Data Upskilling Bootcamp, and securing buy-in from stakeholders.
Packed with insights and real-world lessons, this episode is essential for L&D professionals looking to move beyond training and deliver reskilling programs that change lives and drive business success.
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KEY TAKEAWAYS
- The Aviva Foundry trains people for emerging roles and reskills those whose roles are no longer needed.
- The Foundry is available to anyone who wants to retrain.
- The key is really understanding the skills stakeholders need and focusing on the way your organisation works.
- Learners are supported by people who do the role they are training for and apply what they learn in practical ways.
- Colleagues that reskill bring something fresh to their new roles.
- The Foundry approach is now in Canada and works there too.
- Take the leap and set up your own Foundry.
BEST MOMENTS
“If those roles are no longer there for them, they get the opportunity to re-skill.”
“This isn't us hand-picking people … this is people saying I want to learn.”
“You have to build that trust.”
“We knew that if we started making that progress, we'd learn.”
Molly Howes
Molly is Foundry and GenAI Capability Lead at Aviva having joined the company in 2015 and transitioned into roles including Team Leader and Digital Product Owner. The Aviva Foundry being a learning community, developing the knowledge and skills Aviva need to succeed in an increasingly digitised world.
Alex Price
Alex is Group Brand Expression & Design Manager at Aviva having successfully transitioned from a Broker Development Associate via the Aviva Foundry program.
VALUABLE RESOURCES
The Learning And Development Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-learning-development-podcast/id1466927523
L&D Master Class Series: https://360learning.com/blog/l-and-d-masterclass-home
ABOUT THE HOST
David has been a People Development professional for more than 20 years, most notably as Director of Talent, Learning & OD for The Walt Disney Company across Europe, the Middle East & Africa.
As well as being the Chief Learning Officer at 360Learning, David is a prominent writer and speaker on topics around modern and digital L&D.
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