Training went digital during the crisis, even if many clients seem to be waiting for face-to-face group lessons to resume, which is not always possible for companies Shutterstock

Training went digital during the crisis, even if many clients seem to be waiting for face-to-face group lessons to resume, which is not always possible for companies Shutterstock

"The first budget which is frozen is training," explains Naouelle Tir, general manager of Prolingua. “While people need to be trained, even more at this time.” Several centres have also federated a few months ago, showcasing the challenges.

Although not providing precise figures, she is seeing a much lower demand than usual. Prolingua has taken all its group lessons online, while individual lessons can still be held face-to-face. This might be one of the reasons preventing new customers from signing up, she’s guessing.

Businesses closed to visitors

The same goes for Inlingua. "As long as teleworking is recommended, we will not be able to return to our normal activity,” says manager Mario Porrovecchio. 

The share of online courses in turnover has increased from 1% to 15% in one year. “It took a long time to set up in companies. Most customers prefer face-to-face,” he explains. The centre still gives lessons on its premises, but "companies no longer wish to open to outside visitors". They are often open spaces, or rooms too small to accommodate groups of seven to eight people while respecting hygiene measures. 

On the tutors' side, the older ones had some reservations at the start, but, "between spring 2020 and today, we have managed to convert most to online training.” There are around 40 in all for slightly more than 1,000 students.

The Berlitz language school is also experiencing a decline in activity, with training no longer "the priority" in companies, which represent 70% of its clientele. At the start of confinement, "many preferred to wait" before taking online courses. A few of the 80 trainers also had a little more trouble adjusting, but all of them did. Today “the focus is on one-on-one lessons,” explains sales coordinator Emily Zwart. 

Launching Luxembourgish courses in midst of crisis

If, in practice, people seem to train less, their interest is not diminished. The lifelong-learning.lu platform--which lists over 9,900 training opportunities from 275 approved organisations--has had a slight increase in number of visitors since the pandemic. Only 1% of courses were given remotely in 2019 compared to 15% in 2020. Languages remain the most represented.

Some centres have decided to reinvent themselves during this period. This is the case with Etic Academy, which launched Etic Lëtzebuergesch in January. "An offering of Luxembourgish courses, approved by the ministry of national education, to adapt to the health situation,” explains Nathanaël Benizri, company director. 

Turnover for private lessons--25% of which is done online--decreased by around 5% in 2020. This new training is aimed at both individuals hoping  to apply for Luxembourg nationality as well as those who just want to learn the language. With a PDF covering the basics, offered at the start.

“It’s not something we originally intended to do. I took the risk of hiring three people," he explains. The 100% online courses have already attracted around 50 clients.

This article was originally published in French on Paperjam.lu and has been translated and edited for Delano.