A class apart: can e-learning replace conventional training?

Newsroom 01/08/2011 | 12:15

The e-learning market has been boosted by frugal companies slashing their training budgets and seeking cheaper options than bringing a tutor to their premises. But can e-learning really be a viable alternative to traditional on-site courses? BR reviews the pros and cons.

Otilia Haraga

“At international level, there is more talk about lifelong learning, which requires the development of new skills or enhancement of existing skills anytime and anywhere,” Alexandru Cosbuc, VP of international sales at Siveco Romania, tells BR.

Globally, the e-learning market reached USD 29 billion in 2009, of which over USD 17 billion went on corporate training, according to data from Siveco. Analysts predict the global market to grow to USD 47 billion by 2014. North America remains the top buyer, while in Europe, the UK is the market posting the most dynamic growth. In the long term, analysts predict Asia will become the second largest market for e-learning. Other key areas are Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

In Romania, it is very difficult to isolate a value. “I don’t think the e-learning market in Romania exceeds 5-10 percent of the total training market. I truly believe that e-learning can be as effective as many classroom sessions, especially when applied in blended learning processes. Therefore I expect at least a doubling of the e-learning market in the next two years,” Richard Reese, partner at Imparta South-Eastern Europe, tells BR.

To date, training in Romania has mostly been classroom based, says Reese. Only in some “truly international” companies, where people work reThe e-learning market has been boosted by frugal companies slashing their training budgets and seeking cheaper options than bringing a tutor to their premises. But can e-learning really be a viable alternative to traditional on-site courses? BR reviews the pros and cons.gularly at international level, has e-learning always been used to some extent. “Recently however, there have been more enquiries about e-learning – though customers have not necessarily decided to go for it yet – so we are seeing that the interest and awareness, as the first steps in the buying process, have increased,” says Reese.

In the meantime, individual coaching has become more virtual. “I estimate that 15-20 percent of all coaching happening in Romania is not face-to-face, but either by phone or over the internet – via Skype, messenger, etc,” he added.
The crisis has acted as a propeller for the e-learning industry. The growth in demand for e-learning has mainly been triggered by the lower overheads. “Many of the companies have slashed their training budgets, but the need for training has remained the same, so funds have been much more efficiently invested,” argues Cosbuc.

This means that instead of organizing traditional training sessions that involve transportation, companies have used a complex and flexible e-learning platform that should allow both assisted training and learning from a distance. “By using e-learning programs instead of traditional training, the costs are reduced by 20 percent,” says Cosbuc.

Industry players say that e-learning is particularly cost-efficient when a fairly large number of participants in geographically disparate locations are involved. “The more there are of them, the lower the training cost per person, which is precisely the opposite of classroom training,” Miki Ionescu, Trainart consultant, tells BR. The real advantage  is the degree of flexibility it affords. The training process can take place online or via the student’s personal computer, mobile phone or other electronic devices.

“We can define success depending on the perspective we choose. If we take the expansion rate or geographical distribution across the world, e-learning seems to be growing fast, becoming a serious competitor or complement to traditional learning,” Rares Manolescu, senior trainer at Human Invest, tells BR. From the process point of view, e-learning has proved its reliability and usefulness in areas such as: regulation compliance training (health & safety, food & drugs, environment, labor), certification training (IT, financial, continuing educational requirements, other professional certifications) and specific business demands (cost savings, high turnover, multiple facilities and so on),says Manolescu. However, e-learning is becoming a solution that complements, rather than replaces, traditional learning, especially in the field of formal education.

For a firm that wants to train its staff, there are certainly a few advantages in choosing e-learning, especially in these straitened times. Flexibility is the key: participants do not have to be on the spot. “Several short sessions can be organized, still involving all participants. In general, a few short sessions have a stronger impact than one long session,” says Reese.

The logistics aspect, or more precisely the lack of logistical problems, is another key advantage. Participants can be “present” in the training session from wherever they are, which does not have to be the training venue. Which also leads to another advantage: the savings. “Fees on the other hand – as I said before, the training sessions are delivered by a trainer – will not necessarily be reduced by replacing classroom sessions with virtual sessions,” says Reese. Online sessions can be more effective than classroom training, as it is easier to organize preparation work, such as online learning, reading an e-book or watching an educational video, and post-course activities, such as working on a (virtual) project, and measuring online impact, for example through exams and sharing outcomes, argues Reese.
 
Another advantage is management monitoring. “For managers, including HR and training managers, it is easier to measure results and link them to involvement, due to the online monitoring systems in place,” says Reese. However, the very thing that makes e-learning so convenient is also the crux of its shortcomings. For one thing, e-learning students are more prone to distraction. “In online sessions, participants are by definition connected to the internet, which usually means that e-mails and other communications are flowing in during the session. A facilitator has to be aware of this and requires special skills to keep participants focused,” warns Reese.

Also, a key element in any training session, exercises, are hard to perform in an e-learning environment. “In online sessions it can be a challenge to make people work together on exercises and case studies. Role-plays are nearly impossible between participants who are not physically together, other than role-plays involving online cases,” he adds.
And there is the technical issue of internet connection. “E-learning is by definition dependent on high quality internet connections. Otherwise understanding and sharing can be seriously affected,” says the Imparta partner.

 otilia.haraga@business-review.ro

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