ASTD reveals snapshot of international training trends
ASTD reveals snapshot of international training trendsKeywords: Training, Investment,Information technology
Organisations and business and government leaders around the world realize the critical importance of workplace learning, and recognise that increasing the skills of their workforce is a key component for success. This is just one of the many notable highlights found in the American Society for Training &Development's (ASTD's) third annual International Comparisons Report, released at a media briefing at ASTD's 2001 International Conference and Exposition in Orlando, Florida.
Over 500 organisations from 38 countries took part in ASTD's study by completing the 2000 Measurement Kit, which provides definitions and metrics that enable firms to measure and benchmark their education and training investments. The report represents results from nine regions or countries including: Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, China, Europe, Japan, Latin America, the Middle East and the USA. Key findings of the report include the following:
(1) How much training do organisations provide?:
Training expenditures were highest in Europe, at $862 per employee, followed by Australia/New Zealand at $813 per employee. The lowest level was in Latin America, $335 per employee.
Comparing 1998 with 1999 data, Asian respondents reported dramatic increases in expenditures, from $166 to $736 per employee.
With the exception of the USA, Latin America, China and the Middle East, all respondents had increases in expenditures from 1998 to 1999. The USA experienced a slight decrease (1.8 per cent), while Latin America decreased by 27.5 per cent and China decreased by 8.8 per cent.
Among those reporting increases in expenditures were Australia/New Zealand(17 per cent), Japan (66 per cent), Canada (25 per cent) and Europe (22 per cent).
(2) Employees trained:
The Australia/New Zealand region reported the highest percentage of employees receiving training (78.9 per cent), with the USA slightly behind at 78.6 per cent.
The Middle East had the lowest percentage of employees receiving training(59.7 per cent), while Japan reported the next lowest percentage at 60.8 per cent.
(3) Training delivery:
Firms in Europe reported the highest level of outsourcing expenditures (44 per cent) while organisations in the USA reported the lowest level (18 per cent).
Independent training companies and other firms were the most used source of external training among respondents.
The use of e-learning
E-learning continues to be a "hot topic" in the training industry. However, the use of e-learning showed little change between 1998 and 1999, and the three-year projections for e-learning this year were cautious. All regions indicated that more than 12 per cent of their training would come from innovative learning technologies in 2002. The report found regions predicted that at least 17 per cent of training would be from e-learning in 2001. These findings suggest that most firms continue to believe that e-learning will play an increasingly important role in the future, but have discovered the difficulty in making this a reality.
Other findings
As in the past two years, in all nine regions, the two technologies used by the largest percentage of respondents were computer-based training (CBT) and multimedia.
Among the distribution methods measured, CD-ROM, e-mail, Internet, intranet and LAN were the most commonly used in most regions.
When looking at the Internet as a distribution method, respondents expected to double, triple, or expand by even greater amounts in all nine regions.
Further information from the American Society of Training & Development,1640 King Street, Box 1443, Alexandria, Virginia, 22313-2043, USA. Tel: 703 683 8100; Fax: 703 683 1523.
