From Workforce Online: extract from an article by Eileen M Gargner

It’s the training tool worthy of the next millennium. It’s tiny, actually — a fraction of the size of an infant’s fingernail, half as thin, and weighs less than a strand of human hair. Yet this incredible chip can "store and deploy" an organization’s entire training curriculum, including highly interactive, multimedia applications, at speeds that rival human thought. And updating content couldn’t be easier. Once the chip has been surgically implanted in the employee’s cerebral cortex, a noninvasive laser procedure can be used to modify any behavior you want your people to demonstrate ...

All right, so the chip is fantasy. But how far did you read before you knew you were being kidded? Even if you caught on after the second or third sentence, the fact that you got that far shows how accustomed we’ve become to dazzling technological innovations. And while the world of surgically enhanced training will remain, one hopes, strictly sci-fi, technological and market forces have changed the face of training forever—and continue to do so every day.

As we enter the next millennium, the most fundamental shift will reflect a redefinition of training itself. To retain key talent, remain competitive and ensure long-term profitability, organizations are making dramatic changes in the way they develop the knowledge and skills of their workforce. Training as something provided for employees will be replaced by learning that employees initiate themselves. Training, when available, will be replaced by learning, when needed. Training for the masses will be replaced by highly customized, just-for-me learning.

Notice a trend? Goodbye, training; hello, learning.