The internet and its associated technologies have revolutionised the way that the capital's companies are delivering training, with many companies now gaining their competitive advantage online.
In a survey of 1200 businesses across the capital, Focus Quality Services found that 56% of companies - employing more than 200 people - now use online technology to deliver their staff training and development.
Mike Fenton, Head of Research at Focus Quality Services, explained:
"An increasing number of businesses are recognising the flexibility that online technology offers in terms of training and development, with more and more companies subscribing to specialist HR sites and bespoke intranet services.
“Our findings showed that a quarter of all businesses now use online training and development material, with this rising to over half among companies employing more than 200 staff. “
Over two thirds of companies with internet access now make it available to all staff. Mike Fenton believes that this trend could provide significant opportunities for the training industry.
"Businesses are now using technology for a wide variety of uses. Whilst the use of the internet has been led by knowledge based companies the development of intranet systems to deliver in-house training is likely to lead to increased uptake in other sectors such as hospitality and entertainment.
"The next few years should see substantial growth in internet and intranet based solutions for training and development. This will present real opportunities for increasing the cost effectiveness of training and development and its link to productivity improvements."
In total, 56% of larger companies currently access training and development material from the internet, with divisions further pronounced by industry; retail sector (36%), financial (65%) and professional services (49%), the creative industries (57%) and hospitality and entertainment (47%).
However, although the retail sector does not significantly use the internet to source external training, 53% of larger retailers now use an internal intranet system to deliver training in-house. 41% of large finance businesses also deliver their internal training in this way.
To find out more about how your company can improve its internal communication systems and staff development, contact Focus Quality Services on tel. 020 7896 8484.
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