* Highlights from the American Society for Training & Development's 2004 State of the Industry Report
As you make plans to train your IT staff this year, benchmarks from the American Society for Training & Development may prove useful.
Released last month, the ASTD’s 2004 State of the Industry Report is based on data from 344 U.S. companies that detailed how they invested in and delivered learning to their employees in 2003 and their estimates for 2004.
“Investing in employee learning continues to be a priority for business leaders,” says Brenda Sugrue, senior director of research for ASTD and author of the report. “Organizations are linking learning to performance and the bottom line, they understand the relationship between creating a skilled workforce and achieving enterprise-wide success.”
Here are some of the highlights:
* Annual training expenditure per employee has held steady at about $820 since 2002.
* The average percentage of payroll invested in learning increased from 2.2% in 2002 to 2.52% in 2004.
* Use of technology for delivering learning continues to rise, increasing to 23.6% in 2003, up from 15.4% in 2002.
* Organizations provided 26 hours of formal learning per employee in 2003, which is consistent with prior years.
* Managerial and executive development were allocated the most learning content in 2003, followed closely by information, technology, business processes and industry-specific content.
* Managerial positions such as first-line supervisors, middle and senior managers and executives garnered the largest percentage of training expenditures in 2003 (28%), followed by customer service employees (18%).
For an executive summary of the ASTD 2004 State of the Industry Report, go to www.astd.org. The full report is available for download to ASTD members; non-members may purchase the report for $149.95.
