The survey of 100 UK HR experts, conducted for Rosetta Stone and the CPD Standards Office by Vanson Bourne, discovered that 87 per cent of respondents believe that one benefit of a structured training programme is skills development for employees, and 71 per cent of respondents believe employees feel more confident about their work. In response to the increasing globalisation of business, 60 per cent of respondents whose organisations offer professional development and training also offer language training, with over a third (35 per cent) offering it as a CPD discipline.

Donavan Whyte, Rosetta Stone’s VP EMEA Enterprise & Education says, "In order for businesses to succeed and grow, HR departments need to make informed decisions on the optimal way to support development within their organisations. This means evaluating the skills gap and strategically aligning training with business objectives. Our survey results show that there is clear support for structured and strategically aligned training."

On-the-job experiential learning has gathered support in recent years, with the 70:20:10 training concept suggesting that 70 per cent of learning comes through experience, 20 per cent from social learning, and only 10 per cent through formal learning approaches. Valuable though on-the-job learning is, these survey results challenge training approaches that rely heavily on unstructured training methods and reveal strong backing for structured training. This can be as part of a hybrid method of training techniques that include digital-based learning.

In previous research, Rosetta Stone found that two-thirds of executives agreed the future of language training lies in eLearning, with 82 per cent using a blended-learning method of training delivery in their workplace.

Amanda Rosewarne, Director of CPD Accreditation and Research at the CPD Standards Office, adds, "A CPD-led approach to language learning can improve an individual’s career prospects, provide greater work engagement, and create a wider scope of learning possibilities. Language learning will continue to become a cornerstone within organisations’ training budgets, as well as formally recognised CPD activities within regulatory environments."

A summary of the report’s key findings+

• Thirty per cent of HR experts say learning and development needs to be better aligned with business objectives
• 63 per cent of organisations offer professional development and training, while almost one in three (27 per cent) don’t but realise they should
• Three-quarters of organisations that offer training and development take a structured approach, offering CPD
• Smaller organisations are more likely to offer development and training: 83 per cent of organisations with between 501 and 1,000 employees said they do. However, when it comes to CPD, medium-sized organisations (1,001-3,000 employees), which ranked lowest in offering professional development and training in general, came out on top
• In contrast to the experiential learning ethos of 70:20:10, 100 per cent of those surveyed that offer professional development and training believe that a structured training programme has benefits
• With the increasing globalisation of business, six out of ten businesses recognise the importance of languages through training, with just over one-third offering it as a CPD discipline.