Anyone involved in running a charity who read the recent suggestion from the National Council of Voluntary Organisation (NCVO) that every member of staff and volunteer should receive 40 hours of continuing professional development (CPD) every year may have balked at the challenge. Not because they are uninterested in the essential development of their workers, but on a practical basis, just how can cash-strapped, over-burdened charities achieve such a target? Enter e-learning as the hero of charity learning and development (L&D) – and imagine that this e-learning could be delivered in the future via Facebook, the most popular social network of our times.

In 20 years in the learning technologies business, I have seen the fortunes of e-learning rise and fall – and rise again. In past recessions eLearning was seen as the saviour of L&D purely on cost – only to fall out of favour when the good times came around again. E-learning itself was partly to blame, as in the early days the emphasis was more about spoon-feeding as much information as possible to learners, as opposed to what they would find interesting, engaging or fun. So what has changed?

For a start, the internet has revolutionised the way that society communicates, forever. Technology is such a part of everyday life that the barriers to learning technologies are not anywhere near as great, even among the older generation. This has created a tech-savvy society with far higher expectations – so e-learning has pulled up its socks and considered how people learn best, with short, engaging, multimedia courses that can fit around busy lives. And this is where Facebook comes in.

Just think for a moment about the statistics: more than 800 million people worldwide are on Facebook and 50% of them use the site at some point every day. Recent reports suggest that in the UK alone there are more than 30 million Facebook accounts – roughly half the population. It is the social network of choice for most people, so why not find a way to deliver e-learning to where people are already online? As the lines between work and social become ever more blurred, why can't staff learn where and when it suits them best to do so – and in their own time, if that is what they choose?

Of course, this becomes tricky where some companies have an HR policy of banning use of social networks in the workplace – while L&D departments within the same organisations may be trying to encourage informal and social learning. It also raises the issue of the work-life balance, and how much work should encroach on our lives at home. Common sense needs to prevail. Trying to ban use of some social networks at work, while trying to promote the use of others, is unsustainable. Surely staff should be able to choose for themselves where and when they would most like to learn?

Whether e-learning is delivered via a charity's own learning platform at work, or in the future via Facebook, I believe that it provides the answer to putting CPD where and when people want it, at a cost that charities can afford. Although I would add the proviso that technology is only ever part of the solution, it is of course essential that the need for learning has been identified, and it isn't merely a tick box exercise. Learning in its own right may be interesting, but to be of real value to any organisation, it has to make a difference back at the workplace. Learners also need to be supported by real people, especially their managers, ideally within an organisation that has created a thirst for knowledge, and an inspirational learning culture – and that surely, is something that all charities can aspire to.

Martin Baker is the chief executive of The Charity Learning Consortium, the largest group of charities in the UK collaborating to make e-learning affordable. He'll be leading a debate about the potential value of Facebook to deliver e-learning at the free Learning & Skills exhibition on Thursday 26 January, and would welcome hearing readers' comments about this concept.

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