The way we learn has changed dramatically over the past decade. Advances in technology, the widespread adoption of remote working, and the rapid growth of digital learning platforms have transformed how organisations develop their people. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated this shift even further, forcing businesses, educators and training providers to embrace online learning almost overnight.
Facilities Management (FM) was no exception. Professional bodies such as the Institute of Workplace and Facilities Management (IWFM), City & Guilds and many commercial training providers quickly moved courses online, ensuring learning could continue despite lockdown restrictions. While this transition demonstrated the resilience and flexibility of digital education, it also highlighted an important reality: not every type of learning translates equally well to a virtual environment.
Today, rather than asking whether online learning should replace classroom training, the more useful question is: when is each approach most effective?
The pandemic gave rise to what many described as the "Zoom boom", with organisations rapidly adopting Virtual Instructor-Led Training (VILT), webinars and online learning platforms.
For FM organisations managing geographically dispersed workforces, online learning offered immediate benefits. Engineers, facilities managers and support staff could complete mandatory compliance training without travelling to training centres, reducing both operational disruption and costs.
Although face-to-face training has returned across much of the industry, digital learning has firmly established itself as a permanent part of professional development. Most organisations now operate some form of blended learning programme that combines online resources with practical classroom sessions.
Perhaps the greatest strength of online learning is flexibility.
Facilities Management professionals often work across multiple locations, operate on shift patterns and respond to unpredictable operational demands. Traditional classroom training can be difficult to schedule without affecting service delivery.
Online learning enables employees to complete courses:
This flexibility is particularly valuable for organisations operating nationwide portfolios.
Digital learning can significantly reduce training costs.
Employers can minimise expenditure on:
For organisations delivering mandatory compliance training to hundreds or thousands of employees, these savings can be substantial.
Many large FM providers now use online learning platforms for areas such as:
Employees can complete these modules with minimal disruption to operational schedules.
Online learning allows organisations to train large numbers of employees simultaneously.
Rather than organising multiple classroom sessions across different regions, employers can deploy standardised learning content to an entire workforce within hours.
This consistency helps ensure:
For highly regulated industries such as Facilities Management, this level of control can be particularly valuable.
Digital platforms also encourage continuous professional development.
Rather than waiting for annual classroom sessions, employees can access:
Many organisations now use "microlearning", delivering short five-to-ten-minute lessons that fit naturally into the working day.
This approach can improve knowledge retention while making learning less disruptive.
Despite the growth of digital learning, classroom-based education continues to offer important advantages.
Facilities Management remains a highly practical profession.
Many competencies require physical demonstration, observation and hands-on experience.
Examples include:
Instructors can immediately correct technique, answer questions and provide individual coaching that would be difficult to replicate online.
Face-to-face learning encourages spontaneous discussion and immediate feedback.
Participants can:
Complex topics often become easier to understand through live discussion rather than independent study.
Training is not solely about acquiring technical knowledge.
Classroom learning also enables professionals to build relationships with peers across different departments, organisations and sectors.
These informal conversations frequently generate valuable knowledge sharing and professional connections that extend long after the course has finished.
For leadership and management programmes, these relationships can be just as valuable as the formal curriculum.
One challenge of online learning is maintaining concentration.
Employees studying independently may become distracted by:
In contrast, classroom learning provides a dedicated environment where participants can focus entirely on the subject matter.
This often leads to stronger engagement and better discussion.
While digital learning offers significant advantages, it is not without limitations.
Online learning demands discipline.
Without scheduled classroom sessions or instructor supervision, some learners struggle to:
Completion rates for self-paced learning can sometimes be lower than expected if organisations fail to support learners effectively.
Watching a video demonstration is rarely equivalent to carrying out the task yourself.
For technical FM disciplines, practical competence still depends upon supervised experience.
Virtual learning works well for knowledge acquisition but often needs to be supplemented by practical assessment.
Successful online learning relies upon:
Not every employee has the same level of digital literacy, meaning organisations may need to provide additional support.
Technology continues to reshape workplace learning.
Increasingly, Facilities Management organisations are exploring:
AI-powered learning platforms can personalise training by:
This creates more tailored development programmes for individual learners.
Virtual reality allows learners to practise tasks within immersive digital environments.
Potential applications include:
Learners can make mistakes safely before carrying out similar tasks in real buildings.
Augmented reality overlays digital information onto physical environments.
Some engineering teams now use AR to:
Although still developing, these technologies have considerable potential within FM training.
Rather than choosing between online and classroom learning, many organisations now combine both.
This blended approach allows each method to be used where it is strongest.
For example:
Online learning may cover:
Face-to-face sessions may focus on:
This combination improves learning outcomes while keeping costs manageable.
The FM profession continues to evolve rapidly.
Modern facilities managers increasingly require knowledge in areas such as:
These subjects lend themselves well to online learning, allowing professionals to update their knowledge continuously throughout their careers.
At the same time, practical engineering skills, leadership capabilities and interpersonal communication remain best developed through direct experience and face-to-face interaction.
The debate is no longer about whether online learning is better than classroom education.
Both have clear strengths, and both have limitations.
Online learning offers outstanding flexibility, scalability and cost efficiency, making it ideal for knowledge-based learning and continuous professional development. Face-to-face education remains invaluable for practical skills, collaboration, coaching and relationship building.
For Facilities Management organisations, the most effective solution is rarely choosing one over the other. Instead, it is creating a carefully designed blended learning strategy that combines the accessibility of digital education with the depth and engagement of in-person training.
As technology continues to evolve through AI, virtual reality and immersive learning experiences, organisations that embrace both innovation and human interaction will be best placed to develop the skilled, adaptable workforce the FM sector needs for the future.
