The main objective of this report is to aim at a clear definition, analysis of the major tools and perspectives of Distance Learning or e-Learning in 16 European countries in 2000

1.�� VOCATIONAL TRAINING IN THE KNOWLEDGE SOCIETY

The Information Society is becoming increasingly known as the Knowledge Society in which knowledge is becoming a real asset for corporations and, of course, for individuals too. Knowledge is being capitalised amongst groups who share values and objectives; knowledge is becoming a sharable value; and knowledge is evolving continuously. It is turning the learning/training phenomenon into a central issue of society.

In the traditional 'industrial society', people were trained when needed to adapt to tools, or to prepare for hierarchical progression. In the 'information society', more and more workers are concentrated on data refining, transformation and distribution. This can be increasingly done from anywhere thanks to ICT, and there is rapid, constant change. This means that more and more workers (and the same is true of citizens) need to be able to adapt themselves very quickly when they need to, and at their own pace when they choose to. This means that education/training materials must become increasingly available at any time from any place.

One example that illustrates this new behaviour is the 'knowledge team' established by the Finnish Ministry of Labour in 1997: it produced an intermediary report, and has continued to study the issue with a new team since June 1999 (Finnish Ministry of Labour, 1997). The learning process and the access to knowledge is key: '� methods of lifelong learning and the organisation of learning can be applied at workplace level, not only to manage work but also to achieve continuous improvement and implement qualitative progressive steps.' Interestingly enough, this document also establishes the relationship between learning, education and creativity, and clearly sets out the roles of standard education and vocational knowledge. Altogether this shows how important it is to an individual to have access to the various levels of knowledge at any time during his/her life in order to be able to decide alone how to develop and how to adapt to the new constraints of society. No one starts life equal. It should be possible for anyone to catch up at any time, as it will increasingly become the result of an individual decision.

Distance learning has been around for many years, and it must be conceded that it has not necessarily been very successful even though providers have offered a better mix of media to make courses more attractive. Globally speaking, after the poor showing of the emerging computer-aided learning in the 1980s, many people thought that video and sound would make all the difference. However, courses based on CD-Roms have not created the huge market that was anticipated. In fact, in many cases, the CD-Rom simply replaced paper + audio, or paper + video, and this new pedagogical approach made little headway. Things are now changing with the Internet offering real interactivity at an affordable cost, and more and more people being computer-literate and having equipment at home and/or in the office. This phenomenon is very new and is expanding fast. Unfortunately, Europe is coming to it late, and the USA is taking advantage. Europe will have to react quickly to avoid being in the position of simply using translated American materials.

Some figures may give a sharper insight into this situation. A report published by Arthur Andersen France in April 2000 (Arthur Andersen, 2000) and a subsequent one published by the three French specialist bodies (Aska, Le Pr�au, Klr.fr, 2000), are some of the most recent documents on the subject.

The figures quoted in their research are impressive:

� web-training will account for 50% of the training market by 2005

� ICT training covers 60% of training in 2000, and should be less than 50% around 2003, according to the US-based research organisation, IDC

� Master's degrees will be increasingly delivered online

� the American e-learning market represented $92 million in 1996 (IDC) and $197 million in 1997 (US Bureau of Census); in 2002, 60% of training expenses in the USA will go on e-learning, and revenue is likely to top $10 billion in 2002 (IDC)

� New Media Think Tank expects all American corporations to use e-learning, principally those with complex products and remote workers

� corporate universities will become corporate e-campuses

� there is a direct link between the 'explosion' of the e-learning market and the number of computers and Internet connections in homes and offices: to compare with the situation in the USA and estimate the measures that Europe will have to take to close the gap, it is worth bearing in mind that 60% of US households will have a computer in the home by 2002, 92% of secondary school students have access to a computer, 55% of students have a personal computer, and 1 computer was available to 1.6 employees in early 1999. In this context, it is important to remember that 57% of Internet users at the end of 1998 were Americans. Of course, this is changing at a dramatic pace, but Europe will have to change really quickly to catch up, principally in the use field

We will conclude this section with Table 1, clearly showing how the use of training provision will start to change in 2001, and that by 2005 the trend will have finally reversed in favour of distance or e-learning solutions.

Table 1: Growth in revenues from training provision, $ billion. (Source: Aska, Le Pr�au. Klr.fr, 2000)

Year:	'94	'95	'96	'97	'98	'99	'00	'01	'02	'03	'04	'05
Total	50.6	52.2	55.7	58.6	60.7	63.1	65.7	68.3	71.0	73.9	76.8	79.1
E-learning	0.02	0.05	0.1	0.23	0.5	1	2	3.6	6.3	11	19	34
Traditional	50.6	52.2	55.6	58.4	60.2	62.1	63.7	64.7	64.7	62.8	57.5	45.3

2. �� THE E-LEARNING PROCESS

Most vocational training these days is still delivered in a very traditional classroom format despite the fact that Computer Aided Systems and authoring tools have been around for over 20 years. It has to be admitted that most courses were unappealing and usually quite expensive. They were unappealing mainly for two reasons: poor display quality on most computers until the graphical interface became standard on PCs, and the fact that few trainers understood that they had to fundamentally change their teaching methods model and their role. In fact, most courses were designed for the trainee to be alone, and in most of the cases (i.e. about 80% of the time) people dropped out.

Things changed radically with the spread of networks within organisations (intranets) and the increased use of the Internet, but the main change was that it was now possible to create attractive material and handle an interactive relationship between trainer and trainee. However, there have been few really good examples. Most large corporations are testing systems and conducting pilot projects because they realise that they need to completely change the way training is delivered to workers who are increasingly becoming e-workers. In this field, the process of change is slow, but this can be easily explained. Implementing e-learning in an organisation requires:

� the availability of good quality secured networks

� the acceptance of new tools by users

� a choice between an educational platform, providers and ASPs

� the definition and development (or acquisition) of contents

� the existence of trainers who become 'tutors', 'mentors' or 'coaches'

� the possibility of capitalising the knowledge of the organisation

� and, of course, the fact that everybody is familiar with the use of a PC, e-mail etc.

This cannot be done in a month or two, and it also requires a strategic decision within the organisation as well as investment and time � not forgetting a credible sponsor to foster the process of change. Experience shows that this takes at least a year from the point when it is decided to implement an e-learning facility in the organisation to the point when workers use it spontaneously. This is the best case, when communications and pilot testing have been successfully addressed within the organisation.

However, as e-learning becomes one of the organisation's competitive tools, as if they were new methods of work, it is sure to develop, and hopefully best practices will become available.

In April, Arthur Andersen published a study in France reporting that only 12% of the companies interviewed (74 companies in all) used the Internet for training purposes, and that 22% used their intranet. By comparison, the USA spends 60% of its training budget on e-learning alone! Still a long way to go. However, an IDC study published earlier this year gives a very optimistic forecast for the development of online training in Europe, predicting a 42% growth in the market each year: in figures, this means a turnover generated by online education of �64 million in 2000 to a turnover of �244 million in 2004.

Table 2: Prioritising needs for 'industrialising' distance learning. (Source: Aska, Le Pr�au, Klr.fr, 2000)

Need	Reasons for industrialising	Constraints/Dilemmas
Organise the training facility	Centralise and disseminate information in the training catalogue for teams and potential users	Reconcile jobs, the training offer and delivery of the training Manage the various responsibilities and roles of a range of actors (e.g. trainers, training managers and managers)
Organise pedagogical resources	Capitalise resources and� uses,� keep up-to-date	Reconcile the approach based on standard pedagogical cost killers and the number of authors, formats and new pedagogical approaches
Manage enrolments	Individualised and customised training paths needed as and when	Reconcile a personalised and decentralised approach, taking into account the characteristics of the trainees and the efficiency resulting from automatic and batch treatment
Deliver	Develop responsibility, decentralise and establish relationships between the people and their resources	Reconcile the use of a range of resources, the visibility of training paths, their dynamics and economics, and the efficiency of communication
Administer	Optimise technical resources	Distribute all kinds of resources, rich media (e.g. sound, images and video) and guarantee satisfactory access times

With this information and with some certainty of growth, the main issue is how to identify the success criteria for implementing e-learning. Most corporations are willing to erect real distance-learning platforms in order to manage the whole training process.

The chart below attempts to identify and classify an organisation's needs and priorities. Available products vary considerably, and in order to carry out the 'industrialisation' of the distance learning process, it is important to prioritise needs clearly (see Table 2).

The challenge faced by corporations will most probably be the re-engineering of the whole training process: they have to make choices that involve links between the new tools and the organisation, technical choices and priorities, and putting in place the right resources and HR management as well as the pedagogy itself. All these choices will incorporate three actions or decisions that are far beyond the price issue of the product itself:

� implement customised, distributed training 'industrially'

� rationalise the training process from information to evaluation of the results

� invest upfront in order to reduce operational expenses

Globally speaking, the structure of the new process, which represents the basic functions of a platform, will most probably resemble the diagram shown in Figure 1.

Fig.1: The structure of the training process. (Source: Aska, Le Pr�au, Klr.fr, 2000)

3. �� E-LEARNING PLATFORMS

The first platforms appeared in the 1990s (mostly in the second half), and were mainly aimed at helping course developers and trainers in the major pedagogical functions of distance learning. For the most part, this meant:

� production and integration of pedagogical resources

� presentation of training programmes

� dissemination and access to resources

� building individual customised training paths

� management and follow-up of training paths

� coaching

� financial and technical administration

In ten years, the various functions of a platform have become increasingly integrated, and now represent a real benefit (in terms of finance and effectiveness) in the management of training. The above scheme represents the main functions of the available platforms. The offer has changed dramatically over the years, particularly last year. The rapid evolution of Internet use has also generated the phenomena of portals.

Portals represent a totally different approach based on marketing and service. They aim to be 'one-stop shops' where the potential customer or user will find all the information about what is available on the market. They are also a way of capturing targeted audiences for providers. The concept can be compared to a shopping mall where the customer can decide how much to buy from available services. It is briefly summarised in Figure 2.

Fig. 2: The portal/mall model. (Source: Aska, Le Pr�au, Klr.fr, 2000)

This new way of selling training has existed in the USA for about two years, and is just starting up in Europe. Enterprises that chose this approach were mostly companies selling CBT. Moving to the portal technology enables them to present a global offering where customers will buy exactly what they need, and find out about what is available on the market.

Major players on this market include SmartForce, which had the highest receipts in 1999, FT Knowledge, Smart Planet from Ziff Davis and Studi.com. Most still have problems in making any profit, and in some cases still need to position themselves to be in the BtoB or BtoC world.

Most portals were created in 1999 even where the original company was already in existence. This is part of reinventing a business to fit in with a new market trend. For example, Asymetrix became Click2learn; SmartForce was created out of CBT Systems, itself set up in 1984; FT Knowledge comes from Financial Time Management; and Studi.com was originally Cyberion + Tag Interactive. So far, most have been trying to position their offer on the BtoB market; only SmartPlanet deliberately chose BtoC.

Let us now concentrate on the platforms, as they represent a strategic decision for corporations; they also represent the most advanced technology, and facilitate total management of distance training in a given organisation, or for a given training company. The aforementioned French study published by Aska, Le Pr�au (Paris Chamber of Commerce), and Klr.fr at the end of 1999 (updated in August 2000) is one of the few available documents that attempt to compare existing platforms. It was based on data made available by the suppliers, and on the knowledge of the authors of practical examples using those platforms. Most of the products are recent, and are still regularly updated and adapted to the evolving technologies, mainly the Internet. It is interesting to note that of the nine platforms presented in 1999, most were no longer in existence in 2000, and that major 'moves' have occurred over the last few months:

� ORACLE abandoned OLA

� IBM abandoned DLS

� Macromedia sold Pathware to Lotus

� Citcom is no longer selling WebTutor

� Sybase is no longer selling NGL

� Asymetrix replaced Librarian with Ingenium

� Lotus integrated Pathware into LearningSpace

Products like CourseInfo, WebCT, TopClass, and VirtualU have evolved on a regular basis, and two new French platforms have become available and are included in the comparison chart presented in this report: they are Sylfide and Plei@d.

A brief presentation of these platforms and their major characteristics is probably helpful before putting them into a comparative chart. The chart might become a practical tool for readers who wish to keep the information up-to-date in the near future.

3.1 �� Products and suppliers

This brief overview of the available offer is based on the August 2000 version of the report produced by Aska, Le Pr�au, and Klr.fr. The intention is not to present a fully exhaustive comparison, but only to present some of the most popular platforms and, where possible, indicate if European language versions are on the market.

3.1.1� � ARIADNE: http://ariadne.unil.ch

The name stands for Alliance of Remote Instructional Authoring and Distribution Networks for Europe; it has 15 servers throughout Europe with pedagogical material made available to the members of the Association. Pricing varies according to use. A consortium is being set up to sell and distribute the platform.

3.1.2� � Campus Virtuel: http://www.archimed.fr

This French product has been on the market since July 2000; it was jointly developed by the Archimed company (specialists in workflow technology) and the University of Lille. It enables genuine cooperative work among students, and includes a virtual desk.

3.1.3 �� CourseInfo: http://www.blackboard.com

This platform was created in 1997 by the Blackboard company, a Washington-based software publisher. They have had a European subsidiary based in Amsterdam since March 2000. Version 5 has been available since June 2000.��

3.1.4 �� DOCENT: http://www.docent.com

The DOCENT platform is published by Mountain View (Stanford, USA), a company that initially specialised in evaluation tools. A European subsidiary was set up in March 2000, and a Paris office was opened in September 2000. DOCENT covers the whole training process from the learner's competences assessment to full integration of the content and measurement of the impact of the training on company performance. A mobile version is available for learners on the move.

3.1.5�� Ingenium: http://www.x-perteam.com�

The American publisher Asymetrix dropped Librarian in favour of Ingenium with large corporations as target market. The Ingenium platform organises training from the point of view of competences, resources and administration.

3.1.6.� Lotus (LearningSpace): http://www.lotus.com/learningspace

Lotus is an IBM subsidiary owner of Lotus Notes and Domino. IBM got rid of its own platform DLS a few months ago and Lotus acquired Pathware from Macromedia, which is becoming the core of LearningSpace. LearningSpace should be available in 15 languages by the end of 2000. One of the product's main developments is that it is now based on a relational database (SGBD SQL server, Oracle or IBM DB2) and no longer requires the use of Domino or Lotus software.

3.1.7�� LUVIT: http://www.luvit.com

Initially developed by the University of Lund (Sweden), this platform is now a commercial product sold by the LUVIT company. It is used by one of the major Swedish unions (SIF), and is already available in the major European languages (English, French, German and Spanish in addition to the Scandinavian languages).

3.1.8�� TopClass: http://www.wbtsystems.com�

This platform has been marketed since 1995 by WBTSystems with major partners like Sun and Oracle. It is compatible with many contents available on the market, and there is no intention to set up subsidiaries in other countries. It has a distribution policy through partners like HyperOffice in France.

3.1.9�� VirtualU: http://www.vlei.com/vu_overview.html

Another Canadian platform available in English, Spanish, Portuguese and French, and distributed by Virtual Learning Environments based in Vancouver (Canada). No subsidiaries in Europe, but a presence in Mexico and China. A robust and easy-to-use platform; also employed in the academic world and in corporations.

3.1.10� WebCT: http://www.webct.com

Developed by the University of British Columbia (Canada), WebCT has been marketed since 1999 by ULT (Universal Learning Technology). It is one of the most widely used platforms in the academic world (120,000 courses to 5m learners in 51 countries). It is being translated.

The offering changes every day and the subject is becoming fashionable. A few other names one might encounter while shopping are Saba (the second biggest Californian supplier), Syfadis, Sylfide and Plei@d (new French offerings).

More and more products are, of course, web-enabled, and in some cases it is even possible to test the product online for a few weeks before deciding whether to buy.

Before presenting the summary chart of the different platforms, let us first summarise the main characteristics of an e-learning platform, given that the platform is the complete toolbox for managing, creating and distributing distance learning training. It is therefore necessary to break the characteristics down into management, administrative and pedagogical capacities.

3.2. �� Characteristics of a platform

Management characteristics:

� needs analysis

� registration

� forecast and budget

� validation of prerequisites

� knowledge validation

� updating of the offering

� online availability of training modules

Administrative characteristics:

� catalogue

� data streaming (e.g. registrations, billing and payments)

� dynamic statistic

Pedagogical characteristics:

� multimedia architecture (sound, images, 3D and video)

� interactivity

� variety of pedagogical approaches (e.g. individual, small groups and teams)

� tutoring or mentoring management

� access to external data bases and links to external resources

� optimal compatibility with available software

� creation and production tools

� follow-up of learner's path

3.3�� Pricing

The objective here is not to provide a detailed comparison platform by platform, as this would be very complicated due to the fact that pricing strategies are in some cases fundamentally different. A few examples will give an indication, although each case is likely to be different because of the specific environment and number of learners.

Generally speaking, e-learning is cheaper than traditional training, and that is one of the reasons why so many large corporations are seriously thinking of using it, bearing in mind that it additionally offers the flexibility and tracking tools needed to manage the training.

VirtualU and WebCT are very similar in price: approximately �3,100 per year for a campus, and double that for corporations. CourseInfo is slightly cheaper for corporations and free for academics. Ingenium is about 10 times that price for 10 workstations, and Luvit starts at �4,820.

Table 3: Comparison of distance learning platforms. (Source: Aska, Le Pr�au, Klr.fr, 2000)

Product

Publisher

Launch

Version

Current

References

ARIADNE

Association

N/A

Campus Virtuel

Archimed

Jul 00

N/A

CUEEP, INSA, University of Lille, EDF

CourseInfo

BlackBoard

1997

4/5

Jun 00

Bell, Intel, Dell

DOCENT

DOCENT

1997

4.5.1

N/A

Ingenium

Clic2learn, Asymetrix

Mar 00

N/A

Groupe Accord

LearningSpace

BM Lotus

Jun 96

N/A

ASF, FT, Lyc�e du Vercors, Hermann Miller

LUVIT

LUVIT AB

1997

3.0

Sep 00

Skandia, K-world, Lernia

Plei@ad

CNAM PdL

Sep 98

N/A

Social Security, IFPME (Belgium)

SABA

N/A

Ford, Cisco, HP, Procter & Gamble, Wells Fargo

Syfadis

ANTALIS

Nov 99

1.1

Oct 00

Vivendi, Groupama

Sylfide

Initiative d�veloppe-ment

1997

2.2

Sep 00

Cr�dit Mutuel, CCI

TopClass

WBT

1995

N/A

Oracle

VirtualU

VLE

1997

2.5

30 universities, 6 major corporations (Banque de Montr�al�)

WebCT

Universal Learning Technology

1997

2.1

5 million users in academia

4. �� E-PEDAGOGY

This is the key issue! Forecasts are generally optimistic, and products exist and are increasingly robust and powerful, and meet even sophisticated needs while remaining affordable. However, most trainers have still not realised that they have to change and adopt totally new pedagogical approaches. Unfortunately, the introduction of e-learning in a group or a corporation is often done by newcomers who understood how to mix the different media and how to remain available for coaching trainees.

Those who are still in the classroom format with the trainer 'who knows' will quickly disappear: training in the near future will be managed according to a completely new process whereby the trainer is the customer and also has some knowledge. The top-down approach, which is still a common method, has to be replaced by a communicative, collaborative approach in which the trainer interactively organises the trainee's progress.

In addition to this new relationship between trainer and trainee, working conditions are evolving very fast and more and more people work from 'anywhere' and train 'when they need to'. This means that courses and trainers need to be available and that new concerns have to be considered. Depending on the learner's situation and the tools used, the situation will vary and an attempt must be made to optimise the best technology adapted to each individual situation.

Figure 3 is an attempt to synthesise what is possible in each case, and priorities in using the best adapted technology. Moving from top to bottom, technology becomes more 'traditional', and moving from left to right the learner becomes more isolated. The figure indicates that the major differentiation factor in the pedagogy remains the new interactivity between actors.

When choosing a course or a training solution, it is important to bear the following factors in mind and find out how they interact on this graph:

� subject to be taught

� speed at which the new knowledge must be acquired

� is it a conceptual or a technical training subject?

� how does the trainer work and learn?

� what are the physical conditions in which the training will take place?

� how much time can be spent on the training?

� is it individual training or group training?

� is it 'on the job' training?

Those are 'on the spot' questions that one should always have in mind when choosing the best mix of media to suit the trainee's particular situation, while taking into account his/her working conditions. It is only by answering such questions that the best adapted media and tools can be chosen for an effective combination and efficient training.

Fig. 3: Learning technologies: Technological complexity, asynchronous, synchronous? (Source: L'Atelier , 2000)

Learning technologies

Learning group (synchronous)

Satellite transmission

CD-Rom multimedia interactive applications

Computer-aided learning

Lonely learner (asynchronous)

Video/web conference

Internet/ intranet

Electronic performance support system

Traditional courses

Books

Coaching

Basic technology

The people in charge of training should also involve trainers in choosing the media to make sure they are agreed and used.

You can select the best course and with the best combination of media, but if it is not accepted by trainees it will gather dust in a drawer; that means that time and money are wasted and the trainers' credibility is lost because they were not able to offer appropriate and adapted materials to fit people's needs. 'Shopping' for courses on the Internet is becoming quite easy, and workers will become hard to please if they are not involved in the process.

That said, it makes sense to be more precise about what distinguishes e-pedagogy from traditional pedagogy. The major differences are that:

� trainers and trainees are not necessarily in the same room any more

� trainers and trainees do not necessarily work at the same time or at the time decided by the trainer

� asynchronous interactivity is a fact

� synchronous communication has to be agreed upon

� the coach must really deliver added value

� the training path must be clearly designed and agreed

� the measurement of results has to be defined.

There are more issues to be considered, but those above on their own will impact heavily on e-pedagogy compared with the traditional classroom.

5. �� E-COURSES

Provision is flourishing, and as the PC becomes a utility in more and more households, it will be natural for anybody looking to improve his/her knowledge to go shopping on the Internet.

We should also keep in mind that an increasing number of children will be familiar with the idea that 'a computer is a learning tool', and that the number of students obtaining Master's degrees using a virtual university will also grow quite quickly. In addition, virtual universities will probably appear more accessible to adults who are keen to get a degree, but not to attend courses on university premises. We are at the beginning of a huge change in accessibility to knowledge, where the individual will be able to chose and manage his/her knowledge and feel responsible for it. If, for one reason or another, the employer does not want to give the workforce access to some training, they will be able to obtain it for themselves - and (why not?) even chose another employer. It is probably not yet very clear how far this can affect social relationships, and how independent citizens can become just because they can be trained whenever they want to at an affordable price.��

Today, about 60% of available courses are clearly related to computers and software as well as to languages. The direct impact of the large number of universities that are going virtual will be the availability of a large number of courses in other subjects. They will most probably form the basic materials for the development of vocational training modules, and the open question here is: Will they be delivered by the academic world or by training companies? It may be that fewer training companies will probably exist in a few years' time, and that there will be more extensive cooperation between the academic and the corporate world. But, that is no more than a guess.

Why mention the corporate world here? Only because the virtual campus of a corporation will become a real asset for corporations, and that in the USA the number of corporate universities has increased over the last 10 years from 400 to 1600. It is forecast that by 2010, there will be more corporate universities in the USA than academic universities. And of course, most corporate universities are transforming into virtual campuses.

Another interesting statistic to come out of the USA is the number of corporate portals being developed in the coming years. A Delphi survey (http://www.delphi.com) reports that 50% of the 300 corporations in Fortune 500 are in the process of developing a portal, and another 25% intend to do so in the next two years. The direct impact will be that these corporations will be able to deliver their corporate courses to people who will have access to their portals (e.g. customers, suppliers and partners), and that means that they will also compete in the field of knowledge.

By way of illustration, let us look at a recent announcement from Hewlett Packard. HP knows how much training costs, and has developed an internal e-learning solution. This solution, which has been open to anybody since May 2000, offers customised training courses over the Internet. The offering is called 'e-learning on tap', and mainly concentrates on technical subjects like Unix, Linux and Windows. It costs about �1,000 a month for unlimited use. To find more, visit: http://www.hp.com/e-learning

To find more about available courses, it is probably worth spending some time surfing some of the websites referenced at the end of this report, bearing in mind that things change very quickly, and that new offerings appear every day. Some specialist newsletters are also emerging; they are really helpful for people responsible for watching the market and making choices when developing a corporate offering or launching a pilot experience. A practical example in France is the free newsletter from Edubyweb at http://www.edubyweb.com

6. �� VOCATIONAL TRAINING FOR TELE-ACTIVITIES

As this report makes clear at the beginning, telework is seen as a way or organising work in a company, and not as a specific employment status. A teleworker is a worker with a working contract from an employer and working in an organisation where telework is an accepted organisational mode. This clearly means that teleworkers act in an agreed environment, and that training is made available to help them cope with all situations in which they need to improve their:

� technical skills

� behavioural skills

� professional skills

Indeed, teleworkers need more skills than the traditional worker in the workplace. This is due to the fact that they work remotely from the organisation, their colleagues and their managers. They need to have good technical skills in order to be as autonomous as possible with the system they use to perform their job, and they need different behavioural skills as their working environment is not the same as an office.

We definitely would like to avoid tackling the case of the teleworker who works constantly from home as this is not the way social partners recommend telework to be implemented. In order to continue to be part of the working team, the teleworker will work from time to time in an alternate office or place. The frequency will be defined by agreement with the manager: it can be several days a week, and the alternate location will also be agreed with the employer. The most common alternative workplaces are the home, telecentres and telecottages (we are tempted to consider the two words as being synonymous), or simply another building belonging to the company they work for that is closer to the teleworker's home.

Clearly teleworkers will want to have access where they are to the training modules that they need, and they will want to avoid commuting just to attend a class because some of their training needs will be specific and will require quick, if not immediate, answer.

This report will not look at vocational training needed to improve vocational skills, as this is the same for all the workers of the organisation, and deciding to make it remotely available using ICT is a strategic decision for the corporation that is related to its competitiveness.�

It is different for technical and behavioural skills: these can be specific to individual teleworkers, and enable them to perform their job remotely in good conditions. The technical skills needed to be perfectly comfortable include:

� all office-related software

� a systems environment

� remote access specifics

� communication software

� intensive use of the intranet

� the Internet

� software specific to the job

� e-mail

� other

For behavioural aspects, it is desirable for teleworkers to have access to training modules to enable them, if necessary, to improve the following skills:

� time management

� personal organisation

� communication skills

� negotiation skills

� empathy

The situation is slightly different for the remote worker who is an entrepreneur and sells his/her services remotely. Practical experience shows that such people are generally computer-literate but have severe shortcomings in entrepreneurship, business-plan approach, communications, marketing and sales, and administration. Business plans will of course define what the entrepreneurs who sell their services remotely will do themselves, and what they will be subcontracting or outsourcing. However, entrepreneurs have to do almost everything themselves at the beginning because of lack of resources. This classical issue of SOHOs� (Small Office/Home Office) and very small companies can largely be solved, or at least helped, by quality training modules made available remotely.

A glance at what is available in Europe (EU members plus Norway) shows that we still have a long way to go, and that very little is available under 'telework offering'. It also confirms that a real effort has to be made to compete with American products in the field of distance training and e-learning. This is probably a good right time to start as most European countries are getting better equipped, and new ways of working are developing. The Internet phenomenon has also fostered entrepreneurship in many countries, and more and more people want to acquire new knowledge and access training through a PC at home or in the office.

The information that follows is an initial attempt to find out what is available in European countries, but it is not comprehensive. More input will hopefully be provided by people reading this report, and thanks to the feedback loop, the content will be enhanced for the report's online version.

6.1 �� Belgium

The Walloon Office for Professional Training and Employment FOREM has launched a new training experience called 'collaborative distance work' for both trainees and trainers (http://www.forem.be) in the framework of European projects. Another example has been developed by ICHEC (http://www.ichec.be) under an ADAPT project. The Belgium network for open and distance learning established in 1999 will most probably generate more examples in the coming years, and the results will hopefully be available at http://www.be-odl.org

6.2�� Denmark

The 'home-PC-concept', which was introduced in 1998 with an obligation to take the EU-driver licence to learn how to use a PC, boosted the learning process in the use of technology and telework. The ODIAL project (a retraining scheme for the unemployed to become teleworkers) has developed some distance learning. The most important element, though, is the Danish e-Learning LAB which aims to make Danish people and society aware of new technologies for education purposes.

6.3�� Finland

The first e-learning experiments on telework probably started in Finland a few years ago, and an additional step was taken by one of the major unions (SAK) with the 'you in the movement � trade union school of the new time' project: this is a new way of training trade union staff in subjects like 'values and cooperation' and more technical subjects related to trade union organisation.

The 'Member-PC' programme with more than 13,000 PCs installed has also been a boost to the interactive relationship between the union and its members. This is a first step, and information and/or educational material can now be made available.

6.4�� France

Even if telework has been very slow to take off in France, there is some experience of specific training. The government training agency AFPA has developed six pilot training experiments throughout the country, and two of them are being updated with new groups of trainers. They are mainly aimed at people who want to set up their own tele-service companies. A full report on those experiments is available in French on the website of the French Telework Association http://www.aftt.net

The INTERFOR SIA in Amiens (http://interfor.dyadel.net) has also trained more than 100 people on tele-activities with a view to helping them start their own business. ADAPT has also developed specific modules, including some distance courses to train disabled people to become teleworkers. Large corporations heavily involved in teleworking programmes like France Telecom and EDF/GDF have developed internal training for their employees and managers.

6.5�� Germany

The WABE project awards a qualification called 'information assistant' to women who have stopped work to bring up children; it uses e-learning facilities and teleworking techniques. The project is supported by IBM. Another interesting initiative is the qualification training to become a distance tutor organised by the employers' association in Bremen; the association set up the Tele-Akademie Bremen, which can be visited at http://www.wisoak.de/mmlshop/index.htm

6.6�� Ireland

Aer Rianta, the Irish Airport Authority, has provided a day-long orientation session for staff interested in volunteering for a telework pilot programme. Details can be found at http://www.cork-teleworking.com

The KITE Telecottage in Enniskillen has build a successful model for rural ICT training aimed at women returners. This programme has attracted over 1500 women into training during the last five years, with the result that over 40% go directly into work, some of them into teleworking. More examples are available in Ireland: they may be found in The Teleworking Handbook, references for which may be found at the end of this report.

6.7�� Italy

An interesting experiment took place following implementation of the new law enabling public servants to be teleworkers. The CIPA project, which provides a complete educational path to become a teleworker, will be available on the CIPA website, thereby supplying the programme to a large number of people. This is intended to link up with the (Public Sector Minister) 'Bassanini plan' which aims to give 30 hours' training to 400,000 public servants in the next few months and match the country's ambitious e-government plan.

European projects (e.g. APOGEO 2000) and national public initiatives (e.g. NETTUNO and ITALICA: http://www.agora.stm.it and http://www.italica.rai.it) are having a positive impact on the introduction of new pedagogical methods in Italy. The medical community, which is already familiar with distance learning and the working environment, and the public sector are moving quickly towards new methods of work. ATENA is the most widely used Italian multi-language platform, and is recognised by the Italian Labour Ministry as a tool for reporting distance learning projects under the European Social Fund. It has been fully developed by DIDA-EL and also delivers the European Computer Driving Licence (http://www.didael.it).

6.8�� Portugal

A telework training course has been developed by the Associa��o Nacional das Empresarias in a traditional classroom format for entrepreneurs. This is part of the Vida Nova European project.

6.9�� Spain

The Asociaci�n CEDERNA GARALUR Elkartea has developed a CD-Rom in English and Spanish for training teleworkers in 'personal development' and 'communication skills'. This project has been completed under the ADAPT project called the Joint Dona Project. Another interesting experience in Spain, and not specifically dedicated to telework, is one developed by FOREM Miguel Escalera and the CC.OO (Workers' Commissions) union with assistance from two funded European projects (TRAINS and ETUE-net). The content of the modules is related to an introduction to the information society, union education and professional orientation.

6.10�� United Kingdom

Probably one of the best examples is the Scottish Professional Development Award in Teleworking, which aims to provide people who have already a marketable skill with a basic level of competency in IT skills. It helps them rethink their businesses and take advantage of teleworking opportunities. London City University has developed an 18-module training package called 'Managing change in the workplace � teleworking' with funding from the European Social Fund. Each module takes 4-10 hours to complete: some modules are specifically for the teleworker, others are for the manager, and some are for both. There are also two teleworking NVQs: one is 'Using IT for teleworking'; the other is 'Managing IT for teleworking'. More details can be found in The Teleworking Handbook from TCA in association with HP. And of course, we must not forget the corporate-level pioneer British Telecom, which has a complete training offering for employees, managers and customers.

7. �� CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Europe obviously has a long way to go before homogeneously remote training in tele-activities is available for teleworkers and entrepreneurs. However, this brief, initial inventory is encouraging, and shows that a number of countries have started to experiment in new ways of training. Interestingly enough, it appears that this has often happened thanks to European projects: this has the advantage of involving more than one country, and will speed up the dissemination process. However, more will have to be done � and quickly � to develop a keen competitive edge.

We have seen that the academic world is moving fast into new ways of developing and distributing courses, and substantial investment is planned in most countries for the development of virtual universities. Large corporations are moving even faster because they need to be able to develop knowledge at any time and keep track of it. The corporate virtual campus is also becoming one of the elements that will attract new talent, or help keep them in-house. In the knowledge society, competition is based on new tools, and just-in-time training will be one of them.

Training that is available anywhere will also help to avoid the digital divide between generations, as the younger generation will have been educated with the use of computers and have increasing access to remote training. People who are now in their 30s and 40s, and still following the traditional model, will have to evolve and adapt to survive. This brings the management issue to the fore, as management techniques are also changing very quickly, and managers need to have the ability to train in order to change. The knowledge society is a society of speed with a request for quality of life. This reinforces the need to be able to be trained and to learn in chosen conditions and time. E-learning is one answer to that request.

8. �� BIBLIOGRAPHY

Arthur Andersen, L'irr�sistible ascension du e-learning ou comment former dans la Nouvelle �conomie, Paris, April 2000

Aska, Le Pr�au, Klr.fr, Choisir une solution de t�l�formation: l'offre de plates-formes et portails de t�l�formation, �tude 2000 (see: http://www.aska.fr, http://www.preau.asso.fr, http://www.village-formation.com )

Dieuzeide, Henri & Nathan, P�dagogie Les Nouvelles Technologies: outil d'enseignement, Paris, 1994

EC, Communication from the Commission: e-learning � designing tomorrow's education, Commission of the European Communities, Brussels, May 2000

Finnish Ministry of Labour, From Information Society to Knowledge-based Society: Employment by innovation, Helsinki, 1997 (see: http://www.mol.fi)

La formation online, Le Journal de l'Atelier No 66, January 2000� (see: http://www.atelier.fr)

Jakupec, Viktor and Garrick, John, Flexible learning, human resource and organisational development: putting theory to work, London, Routledge, 2000

Martinengo, G, Telematica e formazione professionale. Nuovi strumenti per nuovi metodi, Beltel Newsletter, June 1999 (see: http://www.beltel.it)

Savoirs et Comp�tences en �ducation, formation et organisation, Actes de forum sous la direction de Jean-Claude Ruano-Borbalan, Les �ditions DEMOS, 2000

TCA, The Teleworking Handbook (3^rd edition in association with HP), Telecottage Association, 2000 (see: http://www.tca.org.uk)

Trentin, G, Insegnare e apprendere in rete, Zanichelli, Bologna 1998

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