Latest e-Learning research in Europe Middle East and Africa (page 1 of 3)

I have condensed some of the findings from the latest piece of research by SkillSoft to identify the perceptions of e-learning amongst over 200 employees, within organisations across EMEA, who are actually using e-learning as an integral part of their development.

16 organisations participated in this study and made their employees available during the research phase.

You'll see that there is unequivocal evidence that e-learning delivers knowledge and skills to those that use it. There's also evidence that course completion isn't a true indication of what's been learnt - as the immediacy of the medium allows employees to dip in and out of courses, just learning what they need. You'll see that the learning is put into practice and that it delivers a range of specific benefits to the enterprises in which employees work. And you'll also see, most importantly of all, that the overwhelming majority of employees like learning in this way.

Within the majority of organisations, e-learning is now a well accepted means of increasing skills and knowledge across the enterprise. Early adopters no longer think of themselves and their organisations as pioneers of a new and unproven method of training. For the most part they have seamlessly integrated e-learning into their training strategy along with all the other methods of delivering training available to them. Even those organisations that waited until e-learning was proven are now enjoying cost efficiency, accessibility, flexibility and the many other benefits that e-learning brings. However, whilst much has been made of the benefits to the organisation of e-learning, there has been little, if any, qualitative investigation into the attitudes and views of the users themselves. What do they think about it? Do they like it? Do they learn from it? And most importantly of all, are they able to put into practice what they learn - and does it make a difference to the way they do their job?.

Employees genuinely like e-learning and find it effective Courses are enjoyable - 93.5% state that they have enjoyed the courses they have taken The learning is effective - 87% can give tangible examples of how they have applied their learning Application of the learning goes beyond just the individual - 52% pass on what they learn to someone else The whole e-learning experience is engaging - 98% say they would recommend e-learning to a colleague. Course completion is not critical -92.5% learn what they need to even if the course isn't completed

Why do employees like e-learning ?The ability of employees to take e-learning at their own pace is key -93% value e-learning because of this Ease of use is also important - 87.5%think it's easy to use The flexibility of e-learning is highly rated - 85% cite flexibility as one of the key reasons why they like it Its efficiency in terms of time is cited by77.5% who appreciate being able to learn whenever they have time73% of employees like e-learning because they think it's an interesting way to learn

Why are they learning and where are they learning? The majority (34%) are learning to improve their competency and efficiency in their current roles or they want to broaden their skills and knowledge (16%) Most of the learning is done by employees at their desk - almost 70% learn at their workstation Two thirds of those who learn at their desk do so during the working day One third of those who learn at their desks do so before they start work or after 5:00pm. There is very little formal dedicated time for e-learning in most organizations.



All major IT skill areas are represented in the sample.