Business Training Needs Increase as Technology Improves

Technology is changing the need for more training while changing the method of training.

Constant training is needed more now to keep up with advances in technology and the latest programs. But technological advances, chiefly the Internet, are also changing how training is done. It's commonly called "computer-based training," or "e-learning."

Online training is one of the biggest changes that has occurred in professional training and development during the last decade, said Pat Galagan editor-in-chief of the American Society of Training and Development magazine.

The Internet is allowing cheaper and more efficient training. It gives people more choices and customized classes. And because more people own and use computers, the quality of the training programs has improved, Galagan said.

"It's moving into the big time," she said. "Technology is allowing learning to take place in situations that previously only happened in the classroom."

A recent ASTD survey found that 63 percent of trainers who were polled used online programs and most of the programs are for non-credit courses, Galagan said.

Computers and the Internet allow people who normally don't have the time or money to enroll in courses to do so. Those who do have the time, want it spent productively. They want results.

Because of that, training has changed during the last few decades from generalized courses to more focussed and results-based instruction, experts said. The classes are designed for greater profits that happen from greater productivity.

"It's much more production and bottom-line focussed," Galagan said. "I see more people going to courses in how to be a better salesman."

Jane Wood, president of Jacksonville's training program designers Jane R. Wood Consulting Services, said non-credit classes were previously more "feel good." Today, the courses tend to be to the point and no nonsense.

"They have to be practical if people are going to attend them," she said. "Time is money. It has changed."

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Source: The Florida Times-Union

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