The importance and prevalence of modern forms of staff training in the corporate environments of transition countries: The case of Slovenia

Abstract

Compared with traditional forms of education and training, e-learning is gaining increasing importance not only within the academic setting of formal education, but also in the corporate environment. Concerning the latter, it is evident that with increasing pressure on cost efficiency and competitiveness, in addition to the current harsh financial and economic conditions, companies are being challenged and this tends to change their behaviour patterns. In this article, the results of a survey are presented. The survey focused on the current status and possible future trends of corporate e-learning methods in Slovenia, which is among the so-called transition countries. This survey brings more than one aspect of this issue to light. The findings show increasing rates of acceptance of the e-learning education model by the local corporate environment. Nevertheless, significant gaps are evident when compared with the most advanced European and worldwide economies in terms of the widespread use of comprehensive e-learning models and the latest e-learning technologies, such as LMS systems. Furthermore, the survey reveals that e-learning is perceived by companies as cost efficient and flexible, but on the other hand it is not yet perceived to contribute to a higher quality level of staff training when compared with traditional methods.