CAD Research

Features

Web-Based Training Demand

From the November 2001 issue of

In the June issue of CAD SPAGHETTI, we reported some mixed views from vendors, VARs and consultants on the readiness of European CAD/CAM users to adopt Web-based training in its various guises (see "The E-Learning Evolution"). To investigate the experiences, attitudes and intentions of potential users of such training, we interviewed managers with responsibility for CAD/CAM/CAE functions at 250 UK sites representing a broad range of business activities.

Current Training Methods

We asked our sample about the range of learning methods undertaken by staff working with CAD/CAM/CAE packages. A third of sites send staff off-site for classroom-type training, and 26% employ instructor-led on-site training. Only 5% currently use self-learning tutorials downloaded from the Web, and 2% use real-time Web seminars. A third of our sample said that their staff undertake no training, with most claiming it's not necessary.

Not surprisingly, smaller companies are less willing to invest in formal training than larger ones. Only 26% of sites with less than fifty staff use off-site training, compared to 45% with more than fifty staff.

Online Supply

To what extent is Web-based training available to CAD/CAM/CAE users? Of those who have not used any form of Web-based training to date, only 16% have ever been offered this option. Three-quarters of them have definitely not been offered a Web-based option, leaving 8% who couldn't recall if they had or not. Looking at our sample by CAD/CAM application area, mechanical engineering was the only group of sites large enough for meaningful analysis; 15% of these said a supplier had offered some form of Web-based training to them.

Online Demand

Nearly one in five of the 93% of CAD/CAM users who have not yet used Web-based training said they are definitely interested in trying this option in the future. Just less than a quarter are undecided about adopting this option, and 57% said they are not interested.

The number of sites in our sample definitely interested in accessing Web-based training was too small (45) for any further reliable analysis. However it's worth noting that of these, three quarters were interested in downloading tutorials from the Web, one in six were interested in real-tine seminars, and one in ten didn't know enough about the options to say.

Conclusion

Web-based training is an area for which massive growth has been predicted in the coming years. In "The E-Learning Evolution" we heard from VARs who, back in June, saw little evidence from their own customers in the CAD/CAM market that this demand is taking off. However these findings show that the opportunities are opening up; one in five sites are definitely interested in accessing Web-based training, with just less than a quarter open to persuasion. In the UK and elsewhere in Europe the patchy availability of broadband is an issue, but with targeted telemarketing the opportunity exists for suppliers of online training services to win the business of such sites.

CAD Spaghetti is a free monthly newsletter published by the Business Advantage Group Plc

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