Last year was tough for many players in the IT training market, but
it is hoped that this year will see a significant increase in
growth for the market, although much more consolidation is still
expected.
The general feeling among analysts in view of the prevalent
economic climate is that the market conditions will improve by the
second quarter. Sheila McGovern, senior analyst at IDC, said: "We
should turn the corner by the second quarter." But she forecasted
that overall growth would only reach between one and three per
cent.
However, e-learning growth is predicted to outstrip other training
disciplines - estimated at 80 per cent over the next five years by
IDC, although McGovern believes it will be closer to 100 per
cent.
"The biggest portion of training is still done in the classroom,
representing about 70 per cent, but the real growth area is
e-learning, which is predicted to grow 80 per cent -
classroom-based training is expected to grow by just five per
cent," McGovern revealed.
An indicator of the strength of e-learning can be gauged by looking
at SmartForce and Netg, two companies that concentrate solely on
e-learning and have performed well this year in adverse conditions.
Another indicator is the eagerness of the big service consultancies
to embrace e-learning. PricewaterhouseCoopers has formed a
partnership with SmartForce, while KMPG has partnered Netg.
But e-learning is still not the universal aspect that all companies
are clamouring for. It is still more prevalent in large
organisations than smaller ones.
"Larger companies gain a lot more from e-learning because of the
economies of scale. They tend to have a more dispersed workforce
and so save on things such as travel costs and time. Smaller
companies are going for content, but are not forking out for
learning management systems," said McGovern.
Parity Training managing director Barbara Greenway agreed one of
the big issues this year will be to get training platforms in place
to deliver e-learning.
But certification, flexibility and breadth of offering are also
factors that have to be taken into consideration during the
year.
"Training providers have to make sure they have a flexible
offering, which means providing access to classroom training as
well as having an e-learning offering, but really you need to have
a mix of things," said Greenway.