An article by Rhys Moult in the recently published first edition of Australia’s revamped Training Magazine – now known as ‘E-learning and Training Magazine’ – is entitled: ‘Embedding E-learning in Small Businesses – why they don’t, why they should and how they can’.

Comment: To those of us in Europe, there is nothing new in this idea: that the small and medium sized business should seize upon e-learning, as opposed to sending employees on face-to-face, classroom delivered courses. Despite the pleas of Government departments, along with those of e-learning content and systems’ vendors, for some 20 years, reality continues to demonstrate that it is out of line with the theory. Opinions vary as to why this is so but chief among them must be that, in a small business, there is less time available for formal learning – be it via face-to-face or e-learning.

The smaller the business, the greater the proportion of ‘corporate learning’ that will happen informally. At least, that’s ‘Little’s Law’.

It’s disappointing that – unarguably, for the highest of motives – even more trees must be sacrificed to produce more articles advocating something that will never happen.