Why microlearning is displacing eLearning

Microlearning has clearly taken the lead in recent years. Growing demand for training mobile employees across industries, together with the increasing need for skills-based, results-oriented training, is driving growth in the microlearning market.

According to “Microlearning Market by Component, Organization Size, Deployment Type, Industry, and Region—Global Forecast to 2024,” published by MarketsandMarkets, the global microlearning market is expected to grow from $1.5 billion in 2019 to $2.7 billion in 2024, at an annual growth rate of 13.2%.

What is happening in business?

Corporate training programs are transforming their learning methods, prioritizing those that give learners greater flexibility. They also focus on learning experiences that use more interesting and engaging activities. Finally, companies want training methods directly linked to a learning objective, focusing on specific skills or an understanding of compliance.

The scientific perspective

From a neurological perspective, repetition and review are integral to transferring and retaining knowledge in long-term memory. Repetition becomes easier when content is divided into small, quickly consumed modules. Some research suggests that microlearning increases the efficiency of transferring learning from the classroom to the workplace by 17%.

Microlearning gives the mind a break from cognitive overload while developing more effective learning and long-term memory. Meanwhile, eLearning has always struggled with return on investment (ROI) and measuring learning impact. By its nature, microlearning can generate immediate ROI and measurement.

Companies developing microlearning modules internally also benefit because they are faster and less expensive to develop and update. Microlearning can serve many purposes: onboarding, corporate policy training, technical content, business processes and performance support, among others. It can be used independently or alongside structured learning. Crucially, it enables learning flexibility and employee autonomy, encouraging an enjoyable environment and a culture of continuous learning.