Tech trepidation holding back e-government

Enthusiasm for e-learning is growing in the public sector but its implementation has been slowed by end-users' lack of technological knowledge.

The 2005 e-government deadline has given the already burgeoning e-training market a push in the right direction, helping it to establish a substantial foothold: over half of organisations in the sector have adopted it already, according to a survey of public sector HR professionals by LogicaCMG.

But the picture isn't completely rosy for the e-learning evangelists.

In a sector where PC avoidance is common, not all users feel entirely confident with electronic education and only 48 per cent of organisations have invested in staff IT skills training to address the situation.

Keith Scott, director of training at LogicaCMG, believes that the reason half of public sector staff aren't IT-savvy as yet is down to the attitudes of both ground level users as well as their managers.

"Staff who aren't familiar with IT can be resistant to change. They think they don't see how it's relevant to them. But with NHS strategies for common IT backbones also being discussed, some managers are waiting to see the results before they implement any new programmes", he said.

The research also turned up some big winners and losers in the current training market.

On the podium: blended learning, with over 60 per cent of existing users saying they'll put more of their money where their mouth is in the future. On the scrapheap: video conferencing, out of favour with the public sector.

The public sector seems reluctant to give up its dependence on the face-to-face approach entirely, however, with instructor-and-classroom arrangements still common in 86 per cent of organisations.

Keith Scott says it's simply a case of horses for courses. "E-learning is particularly good for imparting knowledge – a new process, how to work a machine – but when it comes to effecting cultural change, traditional methods come into their own," he said.