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When Teachers are Forever

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DQI Bureau
New Update

Learning is one of the most critical tools that helps build value within an

organization. It not only leads to a better understanding of new technologies,

higher productivity and an increase in revenue, but also helps in improving

customer relationships.

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These were some of the thoughts that flowed free at the country’s first

e-learning users’ conference hosted by Tata Infotech at Mumbai and Bangalore

in February. While a majority of the 100-odd participants, including the 10

speakers, agreed on the growing importance of training the workforce, they also

suggested that India Inc is yet to capitalize on the benefits of the Internet as

the delivery mechanism for education and training. The conclusion: Training

departments today are merely using the Internet to increase the rate at which

they ‘spray’ train employees–for them the Internet is simply a bigger hose

with which to deliver training. So why the need for an e-learning user

conference in a market where the concept is still to be understood by many?

One stone, two birds



"Having been in this business, we wanted to share our experiences with

the market place," says Rahul Thapan, head–education services division,

Tata Infotech. "While our competitors are still looking for alliances or

have recently announced some, we have three years of experience to

showcase," he says. According to him, the tieup with SmartForce has helped

the company offer a wide range of e-learning services in India, Bangladesh and

Sri Lanka.

Thapan wants to make sure that in the next two to three years 15-20% of the

company’s education services revenue comes from e-learning. The revenue from

e-learning is currently 5%. No wonder Tata Infotech plans to join hands with

premier academic institutes to integrate e-learning as a part of their

curriculum as well as work with governments to bring some part of this offering

to schools. It is also working towards providing such services through ASPs and

customized courseware for industry verticals.

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But is there a market in India?



A recent IDC study of the market suggests that the use of the Internet as a

delivery method is gaining prominence in the entire Asia-Pacific region. While

identifying the trends in this area, the market research agency forecast says

that the IT training market for Asia-Pacific excluding Japan is expected to

cross $2.5 billion by 2004. During the same period, the report says, the

computer based training (CBT) segment of this market is expected to grow at a

compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 93.7% to touch $235 million. According to

the report, while the region is witnessing an increasing demand for IT

certification, there is also need for rapid deployment of localized content. The

other indicators, IDC suggests, are the increasing tendency to bundle IT

training as part of system integration contracts and the increasing importance

of Web-based training.

According to the report, India currently represents 21% (or $216 million) of

the total spending on IT training in the region and is expected to be the

leading contributor in the region throughout the forecast period, reaching

revenues of $695 million by 2004. This is because, driven by a worldwide demand

for software development exports, India currently accounts for 60% of the total

Asia-Pacific demand for IT professionals. There will be a significant shift in

‘training channels’ to market seen during this period. Currently instructor

led training (ILT) accounts for 87% of the total delivery media in the region.

By 2004 IDC expects this to have dropped to only 74% as ILT is challenged by

e-learning and CD-ROMs as alternative mediums of delivery.

While most of the speakers agreed with the IDC forecast, they feel that a lot

needs to be done on the awareness front in the country. A majority of the

participants’ felt that e-learning in India is more of a mind-set issue rather

than a technology one and that is exactly where initiatives like the user

conference fit in. There was, however, unanimous agreement on the benefits of

e-learning as a tool to pre-skill their employees and to keep pace with the

changes in the business world. Most participants also agreed that despite

e-learning gaining prominence in the years to come, ILT would never be

eliminated. Instead, the concept of blended learning will lead the way where

e-learning will complement ILT. Speakers at both Mumbai and Bangalore also

indicated that in-house learning of knowledge management would get integrated

into the e-learning deployment in times to come, thereby making it a truly

dynamic learning system.

SHUBHENDU PARTH In Mumbai/Bangalore

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