Open: How We’ll Work, Live and Learn In The Future

by David Price

When it comes to learning, informal beats formal: the organisation learning expert, Jay Cross, asserts that between 70 and 90 percent of learning in organisations is informally acquired. When surveyed, there appears to be a consensus among learning and development officers of a 70:20:10 learning ratio at play: 70 percent of learning is gained on the job, through experience; 20 percent is gained through coaching or mentoring; 10 percent is through formal, structured courses. Cross further claims that formal learning is the least efficient: ‘study after study has shown that only about 15 percent of what's learned in a formal setting is ever actually applied on the job’. Similar24 surveys conducted with young students favour informal learning. When asked ‘How do you prefer to learn?’ Most students choose ‘from friends/family’ first, followed by ‘the internet’, followed by ‘my teacher’.