Much of what your post addresses has been my own experience, Harold, and I touched on it in this post.

However, in response to Martin's assertion that "the bulk of the learning is informal in delivery and takes the just-in-time approach" I would like to say "I wish!"

There is just too much just-in-case, sheepdip stuff still around. There is ample evidence that, for many managers in the corporate world, training provision is a box-ticking exercise. When we have put all our staff members through the current hoop-of-the-month and performance/proficiency/on the job behaviour hasn't changed one iota, we can point to the expensive, whizzy learning programme we put on and sigh about horses and water and stuff.