All employers are familiar with this situation. There’s a training course that you need to put your staff through, but it’s proving impossible to find a time that works for every member of your team. Often, this can lead to inconvenient compromises made in order to conduct a course and can put a roadblock on actually moving forward with training.

So, what’s a good way to get around this? Increasingly, employers are turning to the online sector to find innovative solutions to their training needs. The most common form is eLearning.

What is eLearning?

eLearning is the use of technological processes to access learning material outside of a traditional classroom or office. eLearning is also often referred to as online learning or web-based training.

eLearning is currently a $100 billion dollar industry. This growth in the industry isn’t directly related to the fact that traditional training methods are declining, but are more associated with the fact that eLearning provides an innovative and convenient option for organizations and businesses across a whole range of sectors.

The rise of customized eLearning

One of the reasons that the eLearning sector has grown so quickly, and so effectively, is due to the fact that it has allowed different businesses to share their expertise through the internet. What this has also meant is that there has been a dramatic rise in eLearning services. These services allow you to design training that fits the specific needs of a corporation or organization. This can be particularly helpful if your work falls into a niche area, encompasses distinct but separate skill sets, or if you’re trying to hit a specific performance goal.

Customized eLearning allows businesses to design an eLearning course that specifically meets their needs. In doing so, managers are able to get right to the crux of the areas that they need their teams to address, providing them with exposure to the skills, knowledge and techniques that will allow them to excel in their work. eLearning is also a very popular option for training courses that are required by law, such as health and safety and display screen equipment.

The importance of self-pacing

One of the greatest advantages of eLearning is the ability that it gives staff to self-pace their learning. Research has increasingly shown that giving employees who are undergoing training the ability to self-pace their learning increases the level of skill retention in those who have undergone the training. Self-pacing also ensures that your team can move at a speed that is compatible with their busy schedules, allowing them to go about their day-to-day routine while fitting in the training at a convenient moment.

What eLearning looks like

eLearning encompasses a range of teaching techniques, including informative videos, diagrams, infographics, and quizzes that engage the learner. All of the above have been designed to be incredibly user-friendly, and to make it easy for those undergoing training to track their learning. Nearly all eLearning courses culminate in an exam which tests the skills and knowledge that have been covered in the course. Upon passing this exam, the trainee receives a certificate which acts as formal proof of their new skill sets!