UK Royal Mail Postmen give their stamp of approval to IT

Royal Mail hopes that leasing computers to staff for use at home with their families will boost online skills.

Postman Kevin Shields from Rugby would never describe himself as being at the forefront of technology. His daily routine is to take a red van and deliver letters to nearby Bilton and Newton in Warwickshire, and across the border to Lutterworth in Leicestershire. He has been doing his rural round for the past 12 years.

But his horizons are set to expand thanks to a family e-learning scheme from Royal Mail. For a modest outlay by Shields of Pounds 7 a week over three years Royal Mail is leasing him a high-spec Fujitsu Siemens internet PC, printer, fax and scanner.

He also gets a package of computer games and e-learning materials for all the family, including the latest version of Tomb Raider, a guide to Excel and spreadsheets, GCSE study guides, maths puzzles and spelling games.

The scheme, Learning for All, is open to all Royal Mail staff and Shields, 46, was one of the first to sign up.

He said: "I've got two boys, aged 11 and 15, who spend at least two hours an evening in an upstairs den exploring programmes such as Patrick Moore's Guide to the Universe and the Dorling Kindersley Encyclopaedia. It has become a social thing. They call me upstairs to look at things."

Shields plans to learn how to use the computer in the afternoons when he returns home from his early-morning shift. His wife, a nursing auxiliary, is keen to use the typing tutor package to improve her office skills.

But what of the business benefits? Royal Mail hopes that helping postmen acquire the learning habit at home will improve IT skills within its workforce. As every parent knows, once children start exploring computers they soon outstrip adults because they are natural learners for whom technology holds no fears. Shields is fascinated by the ease with which his sons work on the PC. He said: "They will have several screens open and be engaged on different tasks simultaneously. My aim is to become as fast as them on the computer."

Learning for All is part of a government-sponsored, tax-free, computer-leasing package aimed at boosting IT skills. Royal Mail has negotiated a special deal with Siemens Fujitsu and the e-learning provider Futuremedia to supply and install high-spec internet PCs in employees' homes, plus a range of educational programmes.

To start the ball rolling, Futuremedia organised more than 100 road shows around the country to explain the scheme to postmen, and demonstrate the packages on offer. School-study guides proved to be very popular with parents of school aged children. Online instruction manuals in the use of the internet, spreadsheets for household expenses, Microsoft Office's address book and digital-photo galleries also proved of interest.

The hardware and software, supplied at a discount to normal retail prices, is paid for via weekly or monthly deductions from pay over three years.

Since its launch in December Learning for All has attracted 17,000 takers, almost 10% of Royal Mail's workforce. The first 10,000 who signed up for the scheme received a bonus: free Microsoft Office software worth Pounds 400.

Royal Mail is aiming for a 20% take-up over the next few years. By promoting learning as a fun activity, bosses hope to boost workers' confidence in using IT and the internet.

Shields's colleague, John Kay, is exploring the e-learning packages with his son, Joe, who was recently diagnosed as dyslexic by his primary school.

Kay said: "With the spellchecker and reading programmes, Joe has started to enjoy his school work. I'm really pleased with the PC.

We did have a second-hand home computer but it was eight years old and steam-powered."

Royal Mail believes that, as employees become more confident with IT, they are more likely to take up the increasing opportunities to train online and to use their skills in front-line, mechanised sorting jobs, or move on to management.

Last year it spent Pounds 1m on e-learning, excluding the computer-leasing scheme, which, bosses say, is entirely self-financing. The money has gone on online training materials to supplement classroom teaching, providing more internet PCs at training centres and internet kiosks for staff.

The benefits of e-learning as regards saving costs and enabling learners to progress at their own speed are already well documented. Big users of e learning such as British Airways and central-government departments report that online learning is a third cheaper than traditional classroom-based training and more effective.

The problem is that 70% of Royal Mail's workers do not have access to a desktop PC. Royal Mail's own research shows that few postmen and sorters will ever use a PC at work, but many do not have home internet, either. Investment in expanding IT within the organisation has to include a strategy for motivating staff to improve their skills, which is where family learning comes in.

It is too early to say how Shields or Kay will make use of their growing IT skills at work, although going for promotion to middle management is a possibility -a role that demands use of databases, computerised timesheets and shift rosters.

OTHER ONLINE LEARNING INITIATIVES FOR PUBLIC-SECTOR WORKERS

* Britain's armed forces are doing IT training at learning hubs in government offices and military bases in this country and abroad. The MoD has taken out a licence for 10,000 'training seats'. A management system logs the amount of training and the individual learners. A spokesman said: 'We have designed an e-learning system that delivers training when and where it is needed.'

* The health service has just created a virtual university, the NHSU. Medical specialists are sharing their knowledge in fields such as heart transplants and cancer treatment via online lectures with colleagues in teaching hospitals.

* The North West Development Agency, one of the government's regional inward investment bodies, has launched an e-learning programme, called Raising Our Game, for its own workers as well as for clients and key staff in partner organisations.

* The Royal Town Planning Institute offers management training online, giving council planners the chance to upgrade their knowledge without having to take time off work. Members of the public can download online tutorials on how to make planning applications from the internet for a small fee.