Deloitte, BT, LloydsTSB, O2 and Prudential took part in the live poll during an event about ‘The future of learning’, sponsored by online learning provider, SkillSoft.
Almost two-thirds (62%) cited either online training via desktop courses, online training via virtual classrooms or online books and reference materials as the method they believe will form the single, largest part of their respective organisations’ future training
delivery. This view is also shared by employees.
Independent research conducted by SWNS on behalf of SkillSoft amongst 5,365 public and private sector employees revealed that 81 per cent believe they will be doing the majority of their learning online in the future. Most of this group expect to be doing so at their desks, whilst the remainder anticipate that they will be learning online “wherever they happen to be” via their laptop or other devices such as mp3 players. Podcasts, webcasts, online books and online simulations were also expected to grow in usage.
Interestingly, given the predicted growth of computer-gaming for training,
less than 2 per cent of the sample think that computer gaming techniques will be more evident in the workplace of tomorrow.
Futurist and global future forum board member, Dr James Bellini, backed up the findings. He said: “Ten years from now, the majority of employees won’t be sitting in corporate headquarters or office buildings – they will be working at any number of locations.
This will drive the need for easily accessible learning resources to support their development and their productivity. “Consequently, the most important future competence for employees will be the understanding of where and how to find what they need to know and the ability to access this information and knowledge in a timely manner.
Services such as Books24x7 are already helping to facilitate this, by providing instant keyword access to a vast depository of books and referenceware – allowing employees to develop their skills on-the-job and at the point of need, wherever they happen to be.”
Kevin Young, Managing Director of SkillSoft, EMEA added: “Speed, flexibility and mobility will be key to future workforce development and online learning resources will have an increasingly important role to play. SkillSoft’s investment in research and development will continue to focus on providing rich, and easily accessible online content to help address the business challenges faced by global
enterprises.”