Hemingway, M. (2008), “Going ‘Digital Native’: Putting eLearning to Practice with an Emerging Workforce”, Utility Automation & Engineering T&D, Vol. 13 (issue 9), Page 32-33, http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdf?vid=5&hid=4&sid=39fbd415-7e18-4747-a5ed-f83a9d7f0f0a%40sessionmgr2 [accessed 13/3/09]
The article is suggesting the benefits of introducing e-learning into a workforce to help understand new technological advances. Although the author has statistics to back up the suggestions, these studies don't seem as up to date as they probably should be:
"In 1996, the U.S. Department of Labor released a study that indicated up to 75 percent of workplace learning is informal rather than formal.Informal learning is any unstructured and unscheduled student-controlled learning event. According to the study, professionals learn via peer interactions, email, the Internet, intranets, wikis, chat forums and blogs."
In a time where our technology is advancing as such a fast rate, I personally think that these assumptions that the workplace is in desperate need of training to adapt to these new advancements may be dated. 13 years ago there probably was only the younger members of the workforce that understood the use of email etc, but I think this percentage will be much higher now, particularly in companies where communication is vital- I can't see that any business will contain 'digital immigrants' that struggle to use the internet.
Only six years ago, my Dean at the time refused to use the computer -he got his secretary to send e-mails and wrote everything in fountain pen!
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