Return on ICT training: facts and myths

Introduction and assimilation of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in organisations require users’ and specialists’ training to be successful. Nevertheless, research projects on the real impact of training on individuals and organisations are not frequent and works aimed at measuring training impacts are very rare. This paper presents a multi-annual research programme by AICA and SDA Bocconi , called “The cost of digital illiteracy” and aimed at exploring the results of ICT training initiatives in several industries (until present: manufacturing, banking, healthcare, central public administration). The research framework is common to all the annual research projects, but at the same time it evolves, to incorporate industry specificities and previous years’ results. The following principles guided the development of the research framework: - Training impacts should be measured and empirically tested; - Empirically collected data should be combined with perceptions to capture over time training consequences; - To identify all possible impacts the analysis should involve actors at several layers: participants, their unit manager and the company; - Multi annual data collection should help in finding trends and unpredictable evolutions of ICT training in organisations.