Survey identifies clear gap between what the training function is planning and what users actually want.

A recent poll of 2,355 employees and 584 HR directors and training managers conducted by Cegos, a UK-based training provider, found that more than half of employees wanted more eLearning, a sentiment shared by only 40% of HR and training staff surveyed. The employees were also keener than HR professionals and trainers when discussing Web-based information exchanges such as wikis, forums and blogs. Forty-four percent of the former wanted more information exchange tools compared to 32% of the latter. When asked about conventional, instructor-led training, 42% of HR staff polled wanted to see more classroom-based learning compared to 38% of employees surveyed.

This identifies a clear gap between what the training function is planning and what users actually want.

Today's learners seem to be more willing to embrace new ways of learning than HR professionals and training practitioners. Trainees are technology savvy and want interactive learning delivered to their desktop, laptop, BlackBerry, iPhone, or MP3 player. They want to be able to learn anywhere and anytime, with personalised content delivered on demand. The last thing an employee wants to do when facing an agressive deadline is sit in a classroom for hours at a time when he could instead learn at his convenience while sitting in front of his workstation.

"I would suspect the gap to be even larger had the survey taken place in Ottawa" stated Luc Richard, President & CEO of Dual Code Inc. an Ottawa-based eLearning provider. "Electronic learning has always been more popular with 'techies'. Given the number of high-tech companies in the Ottawa region, it's fair to expect that our employees are even keener about eLearning."