Distance Learning and the Corporate World

Now more than ever, corporations are turning to eLearning to bring their employees to a new level of performance.
The convenience and ease of distance learning has had a profound effect on the corporate world, from companies like Circuit City, which uses online training for its 40,000-strong employee base, to Washington, D.C.'s National Association of State Workforce Agencies, a group of 10 employees who use distance learning to train workforce agencies across the country.
E-Learning is most often useful for individuals who want to return to school but may not have the ability or desire to go to a brick-and-mortar college campus. Increasingly, corporations of all sizes are discovering the convenience and benefits of distance learning, and are beginning to offer courses through online training campuses.

Benefits of Corporate eLearning

• No training supervisor needed
• Employees can train off the clock
• Access to more learning materials
• Lack of specific meeting time offers flexibility for workers on all shifts

Distance Learning Opportunities

Setting up an online training program is possible at a business of any size. Employees and managers should be aware of their long-term training goals--a business looking to update employee certification for a large group will use eLearning in a different way than a corporation who wants to train new employees using distance learning, or a company who needs to re-train only a few individuals online in a number of different skills.
For employees, online training can be a part of their current job--or they can learn on their own. Distance learning programs can give workers important skills, making them more valuable as employees. For managers, eLearning means keeping employees trained and certified. For employees, completing an online training program means an opportunity for knowledge and a bargaining chip for salary negotiation.
Source:
"Making eLearning More Than 'Pixie Dust'" by Sarah Fister Gale for Workforce

Amelia Gray is a teacher and freelance writer in San Marcos, TX. Amelia earned a Bachelor's Degree in English Literature from Arizona State University.