Businesses are spending less on training now than three years ago and remain wary of e-learning, a conference has heard.

Investment in training has fallen from 3.8 per cent of salaries in 2001 to 3.5 per cent this year, Dr Thomas Garavan, of the Kenny Business School, University of Limerick, told the annual strategic training and development conference of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).

And the Republic continues to lag behind Europe and the US in e-learning, with uptake virtually static since 2001, Dr Garavan told the seminar at the Four Seasons Hotel, Dublin. Outsourcing of training and development functions has also declined, said Dr Garavan.

Worryingly, those companies with the most progressive training policy were divisions of US multinationals. The small enterprise sector trails significantly behind.

There is increased evidence that Irish workers don't like e-learning, in contrast to the US where it is widely accepted, he explained. "There is a cultural gap between Ireland and the United States. E-learning is much more widely accepted in the US. Irish people have yet to come around to that point of view."

More positively, training standards have improved markedly since the mid 1990s, said Dr Garavan.

But access remains an issue. Older workers and lower earners continue to be marginalised, while senior managers and professionals reap the benefits of in-service education. Although not as pronounced, a gender divide persists, with more men than women receiving training.

"Companies must continue to review their training policies to ensure we are not at a competitive disadvantage to our international competitors," he told the conference. His findings were based on a series of studies conducted at Kenny Business School on behalf of CIPD.