A sea change in the delivery of health and safety training is currently taking place in organisations around the UK. Embracing the digital revolution and the availability of world class software packages, e-learning has become a byword for up-to-the-minute health and safety training.
The recent explosion of e-learning packages for health and safety training is in part down to the current economic position and the need to do more with less in ever more competitive market places. For many organisations, their old training systems just do not meet their needs anymore, making e-learning packages a convenient, cost-effective and economic addition to health and safety and risk management.
Ark Workplace Risk has deployed e-learning packages for health and safety purposes across a number of client organisations. Feedback has led us to conclude that this method of training delivery offers many advantages:
- Lower Delivery Costs: Many clients have reported that the cost benefit of adopting e-learning are extremely attractive. A recent study suggests that the likes of Ernst & Young were able to cut training costs by 35%, while also reporting improvements in training consistency.
- Lower Attendance Costs: The biggest single cost of training for many organisations is the cost of staff attending training courses. E-learning packages can reduce the time spent by allowing students to study at their own pace, not at the pace of the slowest delegate on the course. As e-learning is more solitary in nature, there is also less time wasted on social interaction and travelling, allowing the course to be completed quick. Less start up and wind down time and less time spent on irrelevant questions can also cut the amount of down time, increasing workplace productivity. What’s more, with an e-learning system, delegates can skip modules they already know, focusing their study time on issues that are relevant.
- Faster Delivery Times: There are clear limitations on how fast traditional training can be rolled out and implemented using classroom techniques. In contrast, e-learning packages can be used to deliver essential messages and key safety information to large numbers of staff quickly and easily.
- Greater training effectiveness: According to research (training and retraining – Fletcher and Tobias, 2000) delegates learn more using computer based instruction than they do with conventional classroom teaching methods. There are also additional benefits of longer term retention of information and a better attitude to training in general.
- Improved Sustainability: e-learning is an effective solution for companies committed to reducing their carbon footprint, with the OU reporting that distance learning can deliver 85% more savings in CO2 emissions than traditional classroom based techniques.