Businesses failing to support e-learning

There are still doubts about the benefits of e-learning for training business personnel, according to an annual survey by a professional management body.

The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development's (CIPD) learning and development research said that although over half (57 per cent) of managers offered e-learning for training, only seven per cent mentioned it as one of the top three most effective training practices.

"E-learning is here to stay - over the last decade it has become a permanent feature of the training and learning landscape," said Martyn Sloman, learning and development advisor at CIPD.

"However, we still have a long way to fully embed it effectively in the organisation. It's clear from our survey that it is not fully appreciated by learners or by training managers."

Within organisations using e-learning, it is on average available to 60 per cent of employees, but only half of them decide to take it up. Only 30 per cent of those taking it up complete the course.

The research concluded that the huge majority (95 per cent) thought that e-learning was only effective when combined with other types of learning, with 92 per cent saying that it required a new attitude on the part of the employer.

"Simply saying we supported blended learning solutions is not enough. We must work harder to integrate e-learning into broader learning and performance activities," said Sloman.

"The best organisations are doing this, but the worst are simply making e-learning available to the individual on their PC and hoping that something will happen as a result.

"E-learning is about leaning not technology. Businesses need to remember that technology is there to support people management and development strategies, not replace them."

Although there was apprehension about e-learning, nearly half of employers and employees said it was the most important development in training for the last few years. A third believed that in the next three years between 25 to 50 per cent of all training would be done remotely.

Large employers were more likely to use e-learning, with companies over 5000 employees having an uptake of 79 per cent, with those less than 250 being 39 per cent.

The large majority of public sector organisations (82 per cent) used e-learning, falling to 49 per cent in the private sector. The survey suggested that this was because of publicised government support for the concept.

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