IT 'underclass' fears

The boom in multimedia-based training may be creating an underclass of workers who

cannot cope with technology-based training, according to a survey.

The survey of 180 personnel directors working in a wide range of sectors was conducted by RRC Business Training. The average company that responded had 890 staff and an annual turnover of Pounds 190 million.

While 82 per cent of companies believe that many of their staff will not be able to cope with technology-based learning, most personnel directors see multi-

media training as the way forward. The majority agreed that traditional lectures and paper study materials would be largely replaced by multimedia training within five years.

Gary Fallaize, managing director of RRC Business Training, said: "There is no doubt that multimedia is an excellent training medium but it is not appropriate for everybody. The best training programmes often take a more integrated approach by combining multimedia with paper-based material and one-to-one tutorial support."