Learning and development

As we emerged from the initial COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns, Deloitte continued to provide virtual learning as part of a hybrid approach to professional development. Our digital learning platforms allowed us to respond quickly and provide our professionals virtual offerings to complement in-person training classes.

We are leveraging Cura, a digital learning platform that uses artificial intelligence to provide customised, online development options covering more than 400,000 learning assets from both internal and external sources. Cura also personalises learning based on the learner’s needs and interests. Cura democratises the process, giving our people both a voice and a choice in their learning while enabling collaboration and individual contribution. By the end of the fiscal year, more than 360,000 Deloitte people had accessed the platform.

As Deloitte offices around the world reopened, Deloitte University (DU) and learning teams worked to balance in-person classroom activities and virtual learning delivery. DU is Deloitte’s cultural home, providing in-person moments that matter—augmented by Cura. As the pandemic enters the next phase, DU will be an even more important place for Deloitte people to meet in a renewed context of personal safety, inclusion and physical and mental well-being. Time spent together in person at DU is focused on capability building, coaching and mentoring, role playing and making connections.

The importance of DU to Deloitte’s future is underscored by the continued investment in its global footprint: DU EMEA will move to a new bespoke facility near Paris in 2023; DU Asia Pacific announced it is moving forwards with a second facility in the region in China; Deloitte India announced its intent to build a DU campus in Northern India; and in June 2022, Deloitte US opened an expanded DU US India facility.

Despite curtailed operations at DU during the pandemic, we estimate Deloitte’s total direct, global investment in learning for FY2022 to average US$1,150 per person. This does not include the “opportunity cost” of taking professionals offline for formal training, which at 42 developmental hours per person per year on average represents US$5.12 billion. That figure also excludes other independent learning time spent by Deloitte professionals—such as utilising Cura resources and pursuing on-the-job coaching and mentoring—that are a core aspect of development at Deloitte.

The way Deloitte people work continues to evolve and we have seen a shift in strategy to embed learning into the flow of work, as well as to align with Deloitte’s environmental strategy to reduce travel.