The end of the year provides a great opportunity to look at the main developments over the previous 12 months and make a few predictions for the coming year.

This month on TrainingZONE we will be looking back at some of the key developments in training in 2003 and dusting off the crystal ball to predict some of the trends for 2004.

If you want to submit an article looking at the key trends for 2004 email the editor Claire Savage at mailto:editor@trainingzone.co.uk

Inclusion of links: We will include a link to contributors' nominated sites and/or e-mail contact address, so that members can access further information about the author if they wish to do so.

Features published so far this month
Justify your budget: Anthony Greenfield head of learning, business improvement company Boxwood Group shows why when setting a training objective, the all-important question should be 'what business impact will this have?'

E-learning trends for 2004: Tony Probert of Dotworld Communications predicts the five key drivers for e-learning in the coming year.

Sporting heroes as business role models: John Macarfrae, director of training provider Maverick, shows how the team training tactics that made the England Rugby Squad heroes on the sports pitch can be used in any field of work.

Training trends in blended learning: Tim Drewitt of Balance Learning looks at the findings of research into the use of blended learning and draws out some key trends for 2004.

The LSC's work with business Michael Stark, Head of Skills and Workforce Development at the explains how the LSC works with businesses to bridge the skills gap.

Acceleratedlearning - the next big thing for 2004? Accelerated learning may not be new, but Robert Chapman from the Training Camp argues that its time has come.