"Workplace Learning"

Why E-learning?

The digital economy places a premium on new business models, customization, and innovation. To guarantee success in this environment, individuals and organizations must remain flexible, acquire new skills continuously, and identify new ways of managing knowledge and information. Although technology is driving much of the change in business and work environments, it also serves as a key tool for keeping pace with rapid change.

The benefits of e-learning -- defined as instructional content or learning experiences delivered or enabled by electronic technology -- rely on the dynamic relationship that links learning, people, and organizational performance. There is a strong economic incentive for business to embrace e-learning. High quality e-learning can improve speed to capability by significantly reducing the amount of time it takes to train workers on new products and processes. According to Fortune Magazine, training that typically would take 6 to 9 months can be compressed to 2 to 3 weeks, thereby guaranteeing faster time-to market for products.

Additionally, e-learning can reduce the costs of workplace training. After the initial infrastructure and development costs are met, the marginal cost of serving additional students is close to zero. For example, Cisco Systems' e-learning manufacturing programs have produced savings of $1 million per quarter, producing an 80 percent increase in speed to competence.

Economic considerations are not the sole reason for embracing e-learning. At a time when public concern persists about the economic disparities among different segments of the population, e-learning holds the potential to diminish the skills and income gaps by expanding just-in-time access to high-quality training opportunities. This in turn can contribute to income growth at all levels.