Advance of e-learning continues to be overstated

Over half of learning and development managers (57%) now offer e-learning as part of their training provision. However, there remain continuing doubts about its effectiveness, according to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Developmentís annual learning and development survey. When asked to list the top three most effective training practices, only 7% of respondents mentioned e-learning.

For respondent organisations using e-learning, it is on average available to 60% of employees, but taken up by only half of them. And only 30% are reported as completing courses. The issues of e-learning are clearly defined: almost all organisations agree e-learning is more effective when combined with other forms of learning (95%) and that it demands a new attitude on the part of the learner (92%).

Martyn Sloman, learning and development adviser, CIPD, says:

ìE-leaning is here to stay: over the last decade it has become a permanent feature of the training and learning landscape. However, we still have a long way to go to embed it effectively in the organisation. Itís clear from our survey that it is still not fully appreciated by learners or by training managers.

ìSimply saying we support blended learning solutions is not enough. We must work much harder to integrate e-learning into broader learning and performance support activities. 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 learning not technology.î

ìBusinesses need to remember that technology is there to support people management and development strategies, not replace them.î

Despite e-learning apprehension from both employers and employees, e-learning usage continues to rise: nearly half (48%) agree itís been the most important development in training in the last few years and almost one-third (29%) say that in the next three years between 25-50% of all training will be delivered remotely.

Not surprisingly, large employers are more likely to use e-learning: organisations with more than 5000 employees have an uptake of 79%, whereas those with less than 250 have a 39% uptake. Possibly due to the government endorsements of e-learning in the Leitch report, there is also an overwhelmingly larger amount of public sector organisations that use e-learning (82%) compared with the private sector (49%).