Employees have given top marks to electronic learning, with more than nine out of ten saying it is an enjoyable and effective way to acquire knowledge and skills.

A survey of 200 e-learning users across Europe, the Middle East and Asia, conducted by online training provider SkillSoft, found that 92.5 per cent of respondents said they had learnt what they needed even where they had not completed full courses, while 93.5 per cent said they found the technology enjoyable.

Kay Baldwin-Evans, SkillSoft's head of research said: ?Even where individuals criticised specific courses, they were still very positive about the technology generally, demonstrated by the fact 98 per cent of the sample said they would have no hesitation recommending it to colleagues.?

When asked why they liked e-learning, the key reason given was that it allowed them to train at their own pace, with 93 per cent citing this as important. Over three quarters liked the fact they were able to learn wherever and whenever they wanted and 85 per cent pointed to the flexibility of the technology.

Baldwin-Evans says different users have different motives for preferring online to classroom training.

?Younger people - typically ambitious graduates - like e-learning because they can go fast without being held back by slower people in a classroom environment. At the other end of the spectrum, a lot of older and less technically-literate people said they preferred it because they could go slowly without feeling embarrassed,? she said.