Has the Training Industry Really Changed Track?

Interesting article by Paul Bacon over at eChinaCities titled 'Training Changes Track'.  His thesis is essentially that companies seeking training will focus more on the specific outcomes of corporate training as opposed to simply using it as a basic staff retention tool. 

Bacon claims that companies no longer need to use training as a staff retention tool as employees have a much stronger focus on keeping their jobs and maintaining their current salaries:

"...The crisis is likely to make HR departments wake up and focus on training that will provide clear, measurable, performance-based results. The focus will shift from ‘softer’ goals (recruitment, retention, employee morale) to ‘harder’ goals (employee performance, profit margins, KPIs)...."

At Yaxley Education, our focus has always been to design tailored courses that meet the specific goals of companies.  I think HR departments in most large foreign enterprises here have always seen 'measurable, performance-based results' as an essential component when selecting training.  

I personally think most Bacon's statements are also really only relevant to foreign companies.  From our experience, large Chinese companies (particularly SOE's) continue to use training as a basic staff retention and employee morale tool.  This is how they relate to training and I don't think this will change any time soon.  Any thoughts on this article?