ASTD claim that "As business leaders focus on top-line growth, the value of learning is becoming better understood and more relevant." Thus the role of the workplace learning and performance (WLP) professionals is becoming more important.

ASTD estimate that US organisations spend $109bn on learning and development annually. $80bn of which is spent internally and the remaining $28bn externally.

The average annual expenditure per employee in ASTD's sample of large organisations increased by 4% from the previous year to $1,424 per employee.

With regards to e-learnign ASTD claim "Organizations’ investments from previous years in learning technologies are now paying off. E-learning has reached a high level of sophistication,both in terms of instructional development and the effective management  of resources."

Many organisations with high-performing learning functions are able to attribute clear cost savings,  efficiency gains in the learning function, increased content reuse, and decreased costs of learning development  and delivery to successful technology investments.

You can buy the full report at www.astd.org.