Distance learning in a changing environment at Lucent Technologies

Since separating from the AT&T Corporation in 1996, Lucent Technologies, Inc. has become one of the world’s leading designers, developers and manufacturers of communications systems, software and products. A key business imperative for Lucent Technologies is, of course, to keep abreast of its ever more aggressive global competition. The leadership of Lucent strongly believes that the core of its competitive advantage is the up‐to‐date skills, knowledge and commitment of its employees, worldwide. Consequently, the Learning and Performance Centre was created at the inception of the company and has been charged with providing the learning solutions that the individuals and organizations within the company need for success. This article describes the approach that has been adopted to link learning and development to business needs, to deliver learning opportunities where and when they are needed via technology, and to assess the impact of learning programs on business results.