Welcome! WHY TRAINING An estimate suggests that more knowledge has been produced in the last 30 years than in the 3000 before that! And there is no evidence of any slowdown in the foreseeable future. Organizations are convinced that unless they can figure out a way of keeping up with the knowledge explosion, nimbler knowledge-intensive companies will leave them behind. Jack Welch, CEO of the seemingly invincible GE puts the fear best when he says 'an organization's ability to learn and translate that learning into action is the ultimate competitive advantage.' Louis Ross, CTO of the Ford Motor Company puts it even more strikingly, especially in the context of the fate of the workers who make up these corporations. 'In your career, knowledge is like milk' he says, 'It has a shelf life stamped right on the carton. The shelf life of a degree in engineering is about 3 years. If you're not replacing everything you know by then, your career is going to turn sour fast.' It is therefore easy to understand why training has become so absolutely critical for everybody, in whichever stage of their careers. People and companies always need to upgrade their skills so that they can stay competitive in the new economy. Here is how the value stacks up for everybody – Individuals Better career opportunities Increased pay and responsibilities Increase efficiency at work Companies Competitive edge over rivals Increased employee satisfaction Better productivity Training in the IT Sector The need for training is perhaps most critical in the IT sector, essentially because IT occupies a unique niche in the economy – it is the key driver of progress in developed societies and because it is a comparatively nascent industry (though its impact has been phenomenal), the relevant skill base is still limited. The value of IT training becomes greater when we realize that unlike other skill sectors (say, hotel management or pharmaceuticals), IT training cannot be focused on IT professionals alone. Information technology's decisive role in shaping modern economies has ensured that all professionals (whether be artists, or management executives or receptionists or whatever) need to use IT to improve their productivity. In fact, a US government study estimates that by 2006 every second US worker will be an IT worker. Clearly not all of them will be IT professionals in the sense we understand this term today (programmers, analysts and technology professionals) but they will all use IT tools directly to perform their jobs better. The need to for training thus becomes even greater in this sector. Several IT users today have not had the benefit of IT education during their school years (IT did not exist for all practical purposes in those days) and those that did, trained on now obsolete technologies. Unless they train themselves now, or their employers arrange for their training, they are likely to be at severe disadvantage in the job market. Companies shall suffer as well. 850,000 jobs went unfilled last year essentially because the trained pool of workers is very limited. Studies estimate this labor gap caused $105 billion in losses. The wake-up call, if anybody needed it, has been sounded. Train, or perish, is the motto of this age. WHY ONLINE TRAINING There are two fundamental equalizers in life – the Internet and education. E-learning eliminates the barrier of time and distance creating universal learning on-demand opportunities for people, companies and countries. John Chambers, President and CEO, Cisco Systems Traditional instructor-led training has had a long and successful run and despite noises to the contrary, it's days aren't numbered – yet! From Socrates to the modern day 'gurus', strong instructors who could motivate students and extract the best from them, have been the key conduit for education and training in progressive societies. The model has worked successfully in societies where knowledge was limited to a few and the vast majority of workers followed cues from superiors. What however in an economy where decision-making percolates to all levels and transparency of information becomes the key to success? In such conditions, all employees need access to quality training and training resources. And because information and systems are created rapidly, the employees need to be trained frequently. Instructor-led training is an inadequate model in such situations not only due to the enormous costs and quality differentials involved, but because it is extremely difficult to manage the logistics of enterprise wide training (which may span across states, countries or even continents) without affecting productivity in key sectors. Online training becomes the only feasible alternative in such circumstances. Here's what makes it different from conventional alternatives – On demand – you can schedule and begin an online course almost immediately after you feel the need for it Everywhere – you can access an online course from anywhere in the world Personalized – you can choose what you want to learn instead of adopting to group needs Community-oriented – despite their personal nature, several online courses encourage community development to share ideas, problems and solutions Cheap – yes, despite all its benefits. Clinton administration figures claim that the National Information Infrastructure, with computer-based instruction, is cost- effective, enabling 30% more learning in 40% less time at 30% less cost Result-oriented – good online courses report on user performance and suggest means of improvement Long-term – online learning environments store data about user performance and generate reports that can be used to analyze long term learning performance Yes, online training creates completely new opportunities which neither individuals nor employees can afford to ignore. Get swept by the tide!