Almost
all companies expect to see a sharp rise in the use of e-learning over the next
three years, according to research.
A
survey of 500 HR professionals at the HRD conference reveals that 99 per cent
of respondents expect a dramatic increase in the amount of online training by
2004.
The
study by training company Happy Computers finds that more than three-quarters
of companies have done little or no online training in IT.
Nearly
forty per cent of organisations expect to be doing the majority of their
training online by 2004 and among large companies the figure was 51 per cent.
But
only seven per cent of those surveyed think that more than 90 per cent of their
organisation’s learning would be on-line by 2004.
Henry
Stewart, chief executive of training company Happy Computers that conducted the
survey, is surprised at the short time span in which companies expected to
increase the amount of e-learning they do.
“I’m
not surprised that despite all the hype surrounding e-learning the majority of
companies have now embraced it. What does surprise me is that companies are
fully behind e-learning with 53 per cent expecting to use it in three years,
compared to the current 11 per cent.”
He
continued, “There are some dramatic changes. One telecommunications company is
using e-leaning for more than 50 per cent of its training, and has made all its
classroom trainers redundant.”
“Organisations
still need the classroom to structure on-job training. Technology does have its
advantages, but it has been found that employees struggle to find the correct
information to learn on their own as well as find it difficult to devote the
time,”
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