British Airways has jettisoned traditional top-down training in favour of a self-service online learning programme for its 48,000 workers.

The airline is using a package from Oracle and e-learning firm Thomson NETg to manage, deliver and track hundreds of online and classroom-based courses covering both IT and business training.

According to BA, the new approach will cut costs and speed up the deployment of online learning throughout the organisation.

"The combined solution has provided BA with a comprehensive learning programme that trains our global workforce in critical areas such as baggage safety and airport security, as well as empowering employees to manage and track their personal training progress," said Graeme Davison, BA's Oracle iLearning implementation manager.

iLearning lets employees book courses, access online learning materials, participate in classes and manage training schedules via a central web portal.

The system has also been integrated with Oracle's Human Resource Management System (HRMS) so that managers can track workers' skills development and personal progress.

Joel Summers, senior vice president of global HRMS and learning management product development at Oracle, explained that iLearning offers medium and large firms a complete learning management system.

"Coupled with Thomson NETg's solution, companies can now provide employees with world-class learning programmes that are easy to deploy, targeted to job roles and aligned with organisational goals," he said.

Thomson NETg's Open Learning Solution has been tailored to allow BA staff access to a complete range of training materials and courseware for individual needs.

Joe Dougherty, president of Thomson NETg, claimed that BA's new open approach to training will increasingly be adopted by other global organisations.

"An open learning environment is critical for organisations that want to deploy online learning quickly, efficiently and effectively around the world," he said.