IRS employee training program to go online

The Internal Revenue Service is transferring half of its training material online by 2006 as part of a broader e-learning initiative.

The agency chose Plateau Systems, an Arlington, Va.-based software provider, to help it schedule, manage and track all classroom and on-the-job training of 100,000 IRS employees.

With the software, administrators can assess employee skills and customize instruction based on their individual needs. The software also will automatically alert by e-mail all agents affected by tax-code revisions and procedure changes that require retraining. Automating that process is expected to reduce errors and improve customer service.

The software also will give employees access to training material at any time.