DURHAM, N.C., Oct. 22, 2014 – Weejee Learning, a global provider of fun, interactive enterprise-wide custom learning solutions, is now offering its newest offering, Qwick Custom – a selection of highly adaptable pre-designed themes which can be easily tailored with an organization's own content to streamline the creation of a custom e-learning course. The result is a high-end, highly interactive course developed in half the time it takes to produce traditional fully customized courses from scratch, and for roughly half the price.
Qwick Custom is straightforward yet comprehensive with each Qwick Custom project carried out with the assistance of a Weejee content coach who guides the customer throughout the process. It enables organizations to develop their custom course in three easy steps:
1). The customer assembles all content using Weejee's Content Wizard feature.
2). The customer browses course designs to find one that's a fit for the organization's content and culture.
3). Leave it to Weejee. From here, Weejee's award-winning instructional designers work behind the scenes to convert the content provided into a fresh and engaging custom e-learning course.
"Qwick Custom themes are complete courses – not templates – each customized by our team to create high-quality, interactive learning experiences expeditiously and affordably," said Ian Huckabee, Weejee Learning’s co-founder and CEO. "We're so excited to introduce Qwick Custom, as it allows us to expand the accessibility of custom e-learning tools and make these fun, sophisticated, interactive learning solutions available to a broader audience."
About WeejeeLearning
WeejeeLearning, LLC is a Durham, N.C.-based custom learning design and development company providing enterprise-wide e-learning solutions to corporations, NGOs, associations and nonprofits. Weejee focuses on making learning fun and more effective by combining the latest technologies and techniques with a high degree of creativity. Weejee optimizes the success of learning and training programs through highly interactive e-learning, instructional design, mobile learning and strategies for social learning and collaboration.
WeejeeLearning Launches Fast and Affordable Custom Course Design
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The Top 20 Gamification Companies List Announced
CARY, NC, Oct. 23, 2014 – TrainingIndustry.com has announced its Top 20 Gamification Companies List, as part of its mission to continually monitor the training marketplace for the best providers of gamification services/technologies in support of corporate learning and development.
View the 2014 Top 20 Gamification Companies
Selection to this year's Top 20 Gamification Companies List was based on the following criteria:
Features and capabilities of the gamification products/services
Company size and growth potential
Quality and number of clients/users
Geographic reach
Awards, recognition, and competitive differentiation
“We are excited to announce our first annual Top 20 Gamification Companies list,” said Ken Taylor, Training Industry Inc.’s Chief Operating Officer. “Requests for more information on companies driving this segment of learning and development continue to grow. This inaugural list highlights organizations that excel in improving corporate learning development through various forms of gamification.”
“These Top 20 companies provide creative gaming tools to improve and reinforce corporate learning,” said Doug Harward, Training Industry Inc.’s Chief Executive Officer. “The gamification segment has become a critical component in many training companies’ portfolios and these select companies showcase the best of that market.”
Email info@trainingindustry.com for thoughts or feedback regarding the list.
View the 2014 Top 20 Gamification Companies
About Training Industry, Inc.
TrainingIndustry.com spotlights the latest news, articles, case studies and best practices within the training industry. Our focus is on helping dedicated business and training professionals get the information, insight and tools needed to more effectively manage the business of learning.
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Relias Learning Acquired by Bertelsmann for $540M
GUTERSLOH, GERMANY, Oct. 24. 2014 — European media giant Bertelsman has acquired Relias Learning, a Cary, NC online education company, for a reported $540 million. The deal is Bertelsman’s biggest U.S. acquisition since the conglomerate bought book publisher Random House in 1998.
Bertelsman’s business interests span books, magazines, broadcasting and music rights. With the Relias acquisition, the closely-held German company is now expanding into the online education market.
Relias employs nearly 300 people and will remain headquartered in Cary, managed by the current executive team.
“The company expects to hire more employees to keep pace with a burgeoning e-learning market,” Relias officials said in a statement this week.
Relias supplies online education courses and training materials for workers in the health are and disabled-care fields.
Formed in 2012 through a merger of Essential Learning and Silverchair Learning Systems, Relias said it provided more than 20 million course for more than 4,000 organizations.
Bertelsmann is buying Relias from Vista Equity Partners and LLR Partners.
About Bertelsmann
Bertelsmann has a worldwide presence in around 50 countries with its core businesses of media and services. Its key geographical markets are Western Europe – especially Germany, France, Britain and Spain – as well as the United States. Bertelsmann is also strengthening its involvement in growth regions like China, India and Brazil.
About Relias Learning
Relias Learning provides online learning solutions that offer unrivaled content, an intuitive learning experience, and meaningful savings.
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Global Knowledge Named Training Center of the Year
CARY, N.C., Oct. 27, 2014 — Global Knowledge, the world's leading IT and business training provider, was named the International Council of Electronic Commerce Consultants (EC-Council) Accredited Training Center of the Year (Enterprise) for 2014.
The award, one of the highest honors from the EC-Council, was given at the annual Hacker Halted event, held Oct. 16 -17 in Atlanta, Ga. Winning accredited training centers and certified instructors epitomize the industry’s best practices and standards. Global Knowledge has been recognized by the EC-Council as a top training center for six out of the last seven years, and this is the second time the company has received the ATC of the Year award (Enterprise).
“Receiving the EC-Council’s Accredited Training Center of the Year-Enterprise award for the second consecutive year is an incredible honor,” said Michael Fox, SVP, Enterprise Solutions for Global Knowledge. “With the advent of big data and cloud computing, securing sensitive information online is more important than ever and we are delighted the EC-Council has recognized our strength in equipping IT professionals with the latest security skills. We look forward to continuing to provide unparalleled learning solutions for our clients and partners.”
Global Knowledge delivers EC-Council's Certified Ethical Hacker v8, a five-day course that covers the latest best practices and helps students prepare for the Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) certification exam. Each year, Global Knowledge trains hundreds of students in CEH alone, rounding out a comprehensive cybersecurity portfolio that includes skill building courses and certification preparation for independently certified training paths such as CompTIA, EC-Council, ISACA and (ISC)2, as well as for products from industry leaders such as Cisco, Dell SonicWALL, Juniper and Palo Alto Networks. Global Knowledge offers live and virtual customized training and learning solutions that allows students and organizations to take advantage of qualified instructors on their schedule.
In addition to taking the EC-Council’s top award, Global Knowledge’s instructor expertise was recognized. Security trainer and consultant Bob Withers was given the Instructor Circle of Excellence Award 2014, an honor he also won in 2009. Global Knowledge is dedicated to providing the best instructors with real-world experience and subject matter expertise.
About Global Knowledge
Global Knowledge is the world's leading IT and business skills training provider. Offering the most relevant and timely content delivered by the best instructors, we provide customers around the world with their choice of convenient class times, delivery methods and formats to accelerate their success. Our business skills solutions teach essential communications skills, business analysis, project management, ITIL service management, process improvement and leadership development. With thousands of courses spanning from foundational training to specialized certifications, our core IT training is focused on technology partners such as Amazon Web Services, Cisco, Citrix, IBM, Juniper, Microsoft, Red Hat and VMware. We offer comprehensive professional development for technologies like big data, cloud, cybersecurity and networking.
Founded in 1995, Global Knowledge employs more than 1,300 people worldwide and is headquartered in Cary, N.C. The company is owned by New York-based investment firm MidOcean Partners.
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IBM Launches New Big Data and Analytics Certification
WORCESTER, MA, Oct. 27, 2014 — Big data and analytics represents a new era in data exploration and utilization, and IBM is uniquely positioned to help clients design, develop and execute a successful strategy. IBM has taken the lead developing a big data and analytics certification specifically designed for technical sales professionals who seek to strengthen their positions as trusted advisors. The new certification, IBM Certified Solution Advisor - Big Data & Analytics V1, offers the accompanying exam for free at IBM Insight 2014. The IBM Certified Solution Advisor certification offers significant benefits to consultants, technical sales professionals and IBM clients by:
Aligning a technical sales professional’s skills to IBM’s solution strategy
Mapping big data and analytics requirements to IBM’s offerings
Allowing advisors to demonstrate how IBM’s offerings help their stakeholders realize significant benefits
Helping clients bridge line of business needs with IT capabilities
Providing a significant competitive differentiation as a trusted advisor with an IBM credential which can be linked to e-mail signatures and other materials
Find out more at IBM Insight 2014.
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NIIT Collaborates with Microsoft in Encouraging Women into IT
ATLANTA, Ga., Oct. 28, 2014 — With an increased awareness of the business challenges and employment opportunities that the IT industry offers, many Indian women are opting to work in this otherwise male-dominated sector. However, the IT and ITES industry in India employs about one million women, which makes them 15 per cent of the working population in the sector.
In order to improve these numbers and attract women in professionals, NIIT has partnered with Microsoft to offer the Women in Tech initiative designed to help aspiring IT professionals from the time they are in high school until they take up a IT job or start their own IT venture.
"In the first year, we will train and mentor the next one million women and help them join, grow and succeed in the IT industry," said Udai Singh, NIIT’s president of global technology strategy.
As Microsoft’s primary learning partner, NIIT will utilize its nationwide network to train and certify female students and professionals in the latest technologies via technology skill enhancer courses.
"This will [arm] the candidates to find suitable careers in IT and accelerate their growth in the fast-evolving IT industry," Singh added.
About NIIT
NIIT is a market-leading, global managed training services company with over 30 years of experience in learning outsourcing. With a team of some of the world’s finest learning professionals and presence in 38 countries, we help the world’s leading companies dramatically improve the effectiveness and efficiency of their training.
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Corporate Visions Survey Finds 10 Percent of Companies Completely Coordinated in Sales Training Initiatives
LARKSPUR, Calif. – Oct. 28, 2014 – Corporate Visions, Inc., the leading marketing and sales messaging, tools and training company, today announced the results of a survey that polled more than 420 business-to-business (B2B) marketing and sales professionals worldwide regarding the level of demand generation and sales enablement/training alignment within their organizations.
The data revealed that only 10 percent of companies are completely coordinated in these efforts, despite the fact that 40 percent of respondents believe optimal alignment does contribute to stronger lead conversion rates.
In the survey, respondents were first asked to describe the level of coordination between their demand generation and sales training teams. The results were as follows:
Uncoordinated – 15.4 percent
Somewhat coordinated – 43 percent
Coordinated – 31.1 percent
Completely coordinated – 10.5 percent
They were then asked about the impact that this coordination – or lack thereof – had on their organizations as a whole:
Our alignment leads to better lead conversion and closed deals – 40.2 percent
Our alignment has no significant impact on lead conversion and closed deals – 10.9 percent
Our lack of alignment leads to lost lead conversion and closed deals – 24.7 percent
Our lack of alignment has no significant impact on lead conversion and closed deals – 2.6 percent
Not sure about the impact – 21.6 percent
Perhaps just as striking as the number of respondents believing their lack of alignment negatively impacts deals is that more than 20 percent are unsure about the impact either way. This data point suggests that many companies may not even measure this critical information at all.
In order to understand whether respondents with optimally aligned sales and marketing teams feel their efforts are paying off, Corporate Visions then cross-referenced the data in these two aforementioned questions. The results identified that 68 percent of respondents with “coordinated” and “completely coordinated” demand generation and sales training teams believe this has a positive impact on their lead conversion efforts. Similarly, 38.8 percent of respondents reporting “uncoordinated” or only “somewhat coordinated” teams admit this disconnect has impeded their ability to close deals.
When it comes to the areas of greatest coordination, companies generally seem to be most aligned on sales and marketing messaging, go-to-market plans and training initiatives, but fall short in the categories of content development and analytics:
Conversation strategy (sales, marketing and training messaging) – 55.8 percent coordination
Go-to-market plans – 47 percent coordination
Internal communication of roll-outs to sales – 43.7 percent coordination
Training – 42.7 percent coordination
Asset/content development (both customer-facing and sales coaching) – 34.6 percent coordination
Analytics/metrics – 31.8 percent coordination
The lack of coordination on content development supports recent Corporate Visions survey findings from earlier this year. The survey revealed that although nearly 40 percent of sales and marketing professionals identify “opportunity creation” conversations as having the highest impact on helping salespeople achieve quota, only half feel adequately prepared to do this with the content and training provided by their companies.
“These survey results support our contention that there’s a potential ‘conversion gap’ in companies between demand generation and sales follow-up conversations,” said Tim Riesterer, chief strategy and marketing officer for Corporate Visions. “Marketing and sales teams must work together to create a more integrated, customer-centric approach to message development and sales conversation delivery, because only those companies that can effectively tell an engaging and unique story across the buying cycle will be successful in creating and closing the opportunities needed to meet their revenue goals.”
About Corporate Visions, Inc.
Corporate Visions, Inc. helps global business-to-business companies create more sales opportunities, win more deals and increase sales profitability by improving the conversations salespeople have with customers. Companies engage Corporate Visions in three key areas:
Developing differentiated messages that concentrate on customer needs;
Deploying tools that support critical steps in the buying cycle; and
Delivering sales skills training that enables salespeople to create, confirm and capture more value.
Corporate Visions helps clients such as ADP, Motorola, Philips, UPS, Cisco and others align marketing and sales with a repeatable approach for creating and delivering winning customer conversations. For more information about Corporate Visions, visit www.corporatevisions.com.
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Sumtotal’s Talent Expansion Applications Integrated with Duke Nuclear
GAINESVILLE, Fla., Oct. 28, 2014 — Duke Nuclear, a division of the largest electric holding company in the United States, Duke Energy, is weaving learning and professional development into its business using SumTotal Talent Expansion® applications.
In a new case study released today, SumTotal Systems, LLC, a Skillsoft company and a leading provider of next-generation HR solutions, detailed Duke Nuclear’s success in improving regulatory compliance in a highly regulated industry by delivering training to employees when and where they need it.
Duke Nuclear operates 11 electricity generating units at six sites. Safety comes first when managing nuclear energy facilities, which is why the electric utility industry is among the most highly regulated. The case study describes Duke Nuclear’s holistic approach to training and compliance, which has transformed learning from an isolated set of activities to an integral part of the business’ goals.
“Instead of keeping learning in a silo, we had a vision to incorporate training into the day-to-day work of our employees,” said Al Sweney, Duke Nuclear’s lead IT business consultant. “SumTotal’s open architecture and ability to integrate with other solutions allowed us to achieve those goals.”
Highlights of Duke Nuclear’s learning and development programs include:
Reducing costs and risks associated with identifying and scheduling employees qualified for specific tasks
Improving safety protocols and business processes by integrating the learning management system (LMS) with 14 business systems, including security and workforce management
Eliminating duplication of training of contract employees by linking LMS to national training-record database, reducing average number of training activities needed from 25 to two
Lowering occurrence of license/certification expirations through automatic notifications and reminders
About SumTotal Systems
SumTotal Systems, LLC, a Skillsoft company and a leading provider of integrated HR solutions, is increasing the performance of some of the world’s most successful organizations, including AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN [ADR]; London: AZN), Amway (KUL: AMWAY), and Seagate (NYSE: STX). SumTotal’s people-focused Talent Expansion® applications, available on premise and in the Cloud, enable contextual, just-in-time development designed to help organizations discover, develop and unleash the hidden potential within their workforce and business ecosystem. Today, more than 3,500 organizations, including several of Fortune’s “Best Places to Work,” rely on SumTotal’s award winning solutions to empower their employees.
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InfoPro Learning to Expand Client Base with Parent Company Acquiring Learning Services
PLAINSBORO, NJ, Oct. 29, 2014 – Compunnel Software Group, Inc., a leading business technology services company, and parent company of InfoPro Learning, announced its acquisition of Challenge Training & Consulting, Inc., a premiere learning services, staff augmentation and consulting company with a 20-year history of providing innovative learning, human capital and staffing solutions globally.
The financial terms associated with the acquisition were not disclosed.
InfoPro Learning, Compunnel’s learning division, will expand its client base while further diversifying its portfolio of Learning & Development consulting capabilities. Additionally, Compunnel’s staffing division will add additional contingent workforce placements to its extensive portfolio of clients.
Challenge Training & Consulting, Inc. has been strongly committed to increasing its client’s levels of productivity and bottom-line performance through innovation and personal service, while ensuring the highest level of customer satisfaction by producing quality deliverables and provisioning consulting resources that consistently exceed expectations on time and within budget.
About InfoPro Learning
InfoPro Learning (a Compunnel Company) is one of the world’s leading providers of learning and training solutions and helps organizations rapidly transform talent by focusing on Learning for Performance. A global, award-winning learning and training solutions company for nearly 20 years, InfoPro Learning provides performance improvement strategies, blended learning solutions and managed training programs.
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ITpreneurs Recognized for Supporting Best Practice Adoption in Japan
ROTTERDAM, The Netherlands, Oct. 31, 2014 — ITpreneurs, a leading provider of IT training content and services, has won the Deshima Business Award within the small and medium-sized enterprises category.
This prestigious award is presented by the Netherlands Chamber of Commerce in Japan (NCCJ) to Dutch companies in recognition of outstanding business development achievements biennially.
About ITpreneurs
ITpreneurs offers innovative competence development programs for IT best practices to support the educational needs of IT professionals. With expertise in key domains including Cloud Computing, ITSM, IT Governance, Information Security, Process Improvement, and Project Management, ITpreneurs provides guidance on disparate frameworks and integrated solutions.
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Pearson Partners with LPGA to Launch an Online Course to Help Teach Female Golfers
BOSTON, MA — November 3, 2014 —Most of the teaching methods used in the golf industry today were developed by golf professionals based on their experiences teaching men. In an effort to increase instructors’ level of comfort, skills, and teaching methods for the training of women golfers of all ages, the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) has partnered with Pearson to create a new online program called the LPGA Teaching HER Course. The self-paced course, which launches in fall 2014, consists of four one-hour modules with knowledge checks and interactive video segments.
The course content was developed from the current LPGA teacher certification education materials. Learners will receive access to in-depth educational resources across three levels of training and a formal certification upon completion of the self-paced course. LPGA and PGA professionals who complete the online course will receive continuing education credits and will also be listed on LPGA.com as an LPGA-Approved Teaching HER Instructor in LPGA’s ‘Find a Teacher’ database.
LPGA Chief Teaching Officer, Nancy Henderson, said, “The LPGA Teaching and Club Professional division has always been recognized for its forward-thinking approach towards golf instruction and the training of golf professionals worldwide. We are proud to partner with Pearson to ensure that our members have the educational tools necessary to confidently and comfortably help female golfers improve their games.”
Pearson’s Managing Director of Higher Education, Robin Baliszewski, said, “With the LPGA’s long history of supporting women in sports, it is no surprise that they are leading the industry by revolutionizing the training process. Pearson is proud to partner with the LPGA to transform their superior content and deliver it in a digital format that meets the needs of 21st-century learners.”
Pearson partners with K-20 educational institutions, organizations, corporations, associations and government agencies to create effective solutions that are aligned with their learning and professional development goals.
For more information about the LPGA Teaching HER Course, please visit: http://youtu.be/jyZtsANYdCY.
About Pearson
Pearson is the world’s leading learning company, with 40,000 employees in more than 80 countries working to help people of all ages to make measurable progress in their lives through learning. For more information about Pearson, visit www.pearson.com.
About the LPGA Teaching and Club Professionals
The LPGA Teaching and Club Professional (T&CP) membership was founded in 1959 as an outgrowth of the LPGA Tour. More than 1,600 members strong, the LPGA T&CP boasts the largest association of women golf professionals in the world and is the leader in research-based golf education. The LPGA T&CP provides members with section, regional, and national programs that further the LPGA’s commitment to offering state-of-the-art education in the methods and techniques of teaching the game of golf.
LPGA Teaching and Club Professionals are dedicated to advancing the game of golf through teaching, coaching and managing golf facilities. LPGA T&CP members also support the LPGA’s various grassroots programs that were created to increase the involvement of women and youth in golf as well as contribute to the overall growth of the sport. These programs include LPGA-USGA Girls Golf, LPGA Tour Junior Clinics, the LPGA Lesson Zone presented by Volvik, LPGA Clinics for Women, Nike Junior Golf Camps and others.
The LPGA is headquartered in Daytona Beach, Fla. For more information about the LPGA, log on to www.LPGA.com.
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SumTotal Expands Global Footprint
GAINESVILLE, Fla., Nov. 4, 2014 — SumTotal Systems, LLC, a Skillsoft company and a leading provider of next-generation HR solutions, announced that it has partnered with AuraTech Pte Ltd, Sunlink and Beijing E-Cell Software to deliver SumTotal’s Talent Expansion® applications in the Asia-Pacific region.
AuraTech, Sunlink and Beijing E-Cell Software will strengthen SumTotal’s presence in the Asia Pacific region by enabling the company to tap into diverse segments, including government, corporate, education, defense and technology. AuraTech, a Singapore-based reseller focuses on e-learning and talent management solutions. Sunlink, located in Hong Kong, offers IT consulting, network architecture and system infrastructure services. Beijing E-Cell Software is an enterprise software company with more than 10 years of experience in the e-learning industry in China.
SumTotal’s partners will help the company meet the growing global demand for HR solutions, which research firm IDC estimates will reach $15.4 billion in Asia Pacific in the next four years.
“Partnerships with successful resellers like AuraTech, Sunlink and Beijing E-Cell Software broaden our reach and help SumTotal meet the demand for robust learning and talent solutions in a growing market,” said John Shrader, SumTotal vice president of worldwide channels, alliances and APJ sales. “Together, it’s our goal to enable as many customers as possible to help their employees get better at their jobs, while they’re doing them.”
AuraTech, Sunlink and Beijing E-Cell Software will now offer their customers one of the largest integrated HR solutions through SumTotal’s learning and talent applications. These organizations have in-depth knowledge of the region and will act as a local resource that has both product expertise and can offer support in the customer’s native language.
“We are incredibly excited to welcome these partners to SumTotal’s growing network in Asia. I look forward to working side-by-side with new and existing partners to meet the requirements of businesses across the territory to nurture and expand their talent,” said Chiou Hao Chan, SumTotal channels manager ASIA.
SumTotal partners with 13 organizations throughout the Asia-Pacific region and has locations in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore, Tokyo and Sydney.
About SumTotal Systems
SumTotal Systems, LLC, the largest independent provider of integrated HR solutions, is increasing the performance of some of the world's most successful organizations, including AstraZeneca, Amway and Seagate. The only HR solution provider to deliver Talent Expansion, a whole new approach to discovering, developing and unleashing hidden potential within our customers' workforce, SumTotal delivers employee enablement solutions that help organizations become great places to work. SumTotal's people-focused applications, available on premise and in the Cloud, enable contextual, just-in-time development designed to advance employees' skills and knowledge. Today, more than 3,500 organizations, including several of Fortune's “Best Places to Work,” rely on SumTotal's on premise and cloud-based Talent Expansion applications to enable their employees.
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O'Reilly Media Acquires Video Training Firm Infinite Skills
SEBASTOPOL, Ca. , Nov 5, 2014 — O'Reilly Media, Inc. announced that it has acquired software-training company Infinite Skills.
Founded in 2007, Infinite Skills currently offers more than 375 video training courses for IT, CAD/BIM, and business professionals, available via DVD, digital download, and iPad editions, and by subscription.
"The Infinite Skills team has built a really impressive business. Their project-based methodology is very much in synch with O'Reilly's hands-on approach to learning," said Allen Noren, VP, Online & Digital Initiatives at O'Reilly. "We can't wait to see what we can produce together once they're connected to O'Reilly's deep editorial resources and talent network."
Video is increasingly the medium of choice for technology professionals -- and tech companies invest, on average, 57 percent more annual training dollars per employee, according to Bersin by Deloitte. Video usage is growing at more than 50 percent a year on O'Reilly's Safari service, an online platform for books and video training, where seven of O'Reilly's current top ten titles are videos.
"We are very excited to be joining O'Reilly to build out their video-based training offerings," said Mike Morton, Director of Operations at Infinite Skills. "We will be able to combine their industry-leading authors with our video learning model to create a best-in-class product in the market, we can't wait to get started.”
About O'Reilly O'Reilly Media spreads the knowledge of innovators through its books, online services, magazines, and conferences. Since 1978, O'Reilly Media has been a chronicler and catalyst of cutting-edge development, homing in on the technology trends that really matter and spurring their adoption by amplifying "faint signals" from the alpha geeks who are creating the future. An active participant in the technology community, the company has a long history of advocacy, meme-making, and evangelism.
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GP Strategies Expands Safety and Human Resources Training Offering
COLUMBIA, Md., Nov. 6, 2014 — Global performance improvement solutions provider GP Strategies Corporation and SafetySkills®, a company providing online safety training courses, announced an agreement to provide safety, environmental and human resources courses designed to help companies meet their critical regulatory training requirements through GPiLEARN™, GP Strategies' web-based training portal.
GPiLEARN, used by more than 250 power and industrial companies worldwide, offers access to 1,600 courses designed to help power plant engineers, operators and other technical workers improve their knowledge and skillset.
The addition of the SafetySkills content provides access to 225 new safety and human resources courses available online, 24/7/365. The content supports the growing domestic and international GPiLEARN customer base by including courses with US, international, and Canadian focus, with many courses available in both English and Spanish.
"Our goal is to make GPiLEARN the best source for comprehensive power plant operation and qualification training available to the industry," said Bill Green, Vice President, Energy Services, GP Strategies. "Partnering with SafetySkills will expand GPiLEARN's training content to support industry regulatory compliance requirements and promote a safe and secure work environment."
About GP Strategies' Energy Services Group GP Strategies' Energy Services Group provides engineering services, performance and condition monitoring products and training services to the energy market sector. Their EtaPRO™ Performance and Condition Monitoring System and GPiLEARN training portal help power plants worldwide meet their goals for improving reliability, capacity and efficiency.
GP Strategies is a global performance improvement solutions provider of training, eLearning solutions, management consulting and engineering services. Clients include Fortune 500 companies, manufacturing, process and energy industries, and other commercial and government customers.
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O’Reilly Media Acquires Canadian Video Training Company
SEBASTOPOL, Ca., Nov. 13, 2014 – Tech publisher O’Reilly Media has acquired software-training provider Infinite Skills, a Canadian company that offers more than 375 training videos on a wide array of technology topics.
Financial terms were not disclosed. Infinite Skills founders Mike Morton and Andrew Sweeney and the staff of their Oakville, Ontario company are joining O’Reilly.
“The Infinite Skills team has built a really impressive business. Their project-based methodology is very much in synch with O’Reilly’s hands-on approach to learning,” Allen Noren, O’Reilly’s vice president for online and digital initiatives, said in a statement. “We can’t wait to see what we can produce together once they’re connected to O’Reilly’s deep editorial resources and talent network.”
Founded in 2007, Infinite Skills currently offers more than 375 video tutorials for Microsoft, Apple, Adobe and Autodesk products and other types of technology. It delivers training videos on DVD, digital download and iPad editions, and by subscription.
Video use is growing more than 50 percent annually on O’Reilly’s Safari service, an online platform for books and video training, the company said. Seven of O’Reilly’s current top 10 titles are videos.
About O'Reilly
O'Reilly Media spreads the knowledge of innovators through its books, online services, magazines, and conferences. Since 1978, O'Reilly Media has been a chronicler and catalyst of cutting-edge development, homing in on the technology trends that really matter and spurring their adoption by amplifying "faint signals" from the alpha geeks who are creating the future. An active participant in the technology community, the company has a long history of advocacy, meme-making, and evangelism.
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Rhone Capital Buys Global Knowledge
CARY, N.C., Nov. 14, 2014 — Rhone Capital LLC is buying Global Knowledge from New York private equity firm MidOcean Partners.
Global Knowledge, headquartered in Cary, NC, is a corporate training company. The business, which operates as Global Knowledge, provides information technology and business skills training to professionals. The company's users include Cisco, Microsoft and VMWare. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Under MidOcean's ownership, Global Knowledge expanded its technology education partnerships, adding IBM and Amazon Web Services. The firm recently invested in supplements company NutraBolt in July.
Rhone Capital focuses on investing in middle market businesses in the U.S. and Europe. In August, the firm invested in Ranpack Holdings Inc., a packaging company. The firm has offices in New York and London.
Robert W. Baird & Co. Inc. and Kirkland & Ellis LLP advised Global Knowledge on the deal. Credit Suisse, Macquarie and Sullivan & Cromwell LLP advised Rhone.
About Global Knowledge
Global Knowledge is the world's leading IT and business skills training provider. Offering the most relevant and timely content delivered by the best instructors, we provide customers around the world with their choice of convenient class times, delivery methods and formats to accelerate their success. Our business skills solutions teach essential communications skills, business analysis, project management, ITIL service management, process improvement and leadership development. With thousands of courses spanning from foundational training to specialized certifications, our core IT training is focused on technology partners such as Amazon Web Services, Cisco, Citrix, IBM, Juniper, Microsoft, Red Hat and VMware. We offer comprehensive professional development for technologies like big data, cloud, cybersecurity and networking.
Founded in 1995, Global Knowledge employs more than 1,300 people worldwide and is headquartered in Cary, N.C. The company is owned by New York-based investment firm MidOcean Partners.
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Training Industry and Pearson Launch Blended Learning Certification Program to Prepare Training Professionals to Lead the Change in Learning
Certified Professional in Training Management (CPTM) Comprises 10 Online Learning Modules, Practicum and Comprehensive Final Exam
CARY, N.C., Nov. 17, 2014 — Training Industry, the global resource for training professionals responsible for improving organizational performance, and Pearson, the world’s leading learning company, are launching a blended learning training certification program focusing on the training leader’s role, along with the business skills needed to efficiently and effectively manage performance improvement. The CPTM comprises 10 online learning modules, a three-day practicum experience and a comprehensive final exam.
The Certified Professional in Training Management (CPTM) program is specifically designed to establish an internationally-accepted level of knowledge, education and experience by which training leaders will be recognized within the learning and development community. Additionally, the curriculum is backed by a body of knowledge collected from learning leaders around the globe, and provides a unique training program designed to make managing the business of learning better. The certification targets individuals who currently manage or aspire to oversee learning functions in organizations, or provide learning services to companies or corporate learning departments of colleges and universities.
“The CPTM program prepares aspiring training leaders to lead the change in expectations from investments in learning and development, while improving the impact of their programs on the performance of their companies,” said Doug Harward, Training Industry’s Chief Executive Officer.
Pearson Professional’s Senior Vice President of Sales and Business Development, Chris Shenk, said, “We are honored to partner with Training Industry to launch the CPTM certification for the professional training and development profession, which underscores our commitment to both the profession and the market place through providing quality online and blended training services that support efficacy and improve business results, employee and member outcomes."
CPTM’s foundation in research provides specific insight on the core competencies and best practices of great training organizations. That research, constructed into an intuitive, hands-on training program, delivers a set of business skills and best practices empowering learning leaders to manage the future training needs of their organizations.
“The CPTM program goes beyond just delivering a training event,” said Ken Taylor, Training Industry’s Chief Operating Officer. “It helps applicants master core responsibilities of running a successful training organization, regardless of company size or industry.”
To learn more about the benefits of becoming a CPTM, click here.
Pearson Professional partners with organizations, corporations, associations and government agencies to create effective solutions that are aligned with their learning and professional development goals.
About Training IndustryTrainingIndustry.com spotlights the latest news, articles, case studies and best practices within the training industry. Our focus is on helping dedicated business and training professionals get the information, insight and tools needed to more effectively manage the business of learning. Visit CPTM for more information.
About PearsonPearson is the world’s leading learning company, with 40,000 employees in more than 80 countries working to help people of all ages to make measurable progress in their lives through learning. For more information about Pearson, visit www.pearson.com.
Media Contacts:Amanda Longo, alongo@trainingindustry or 919.917.4789Brandon Pinette, brandon.pinette@pearson.com or 800-745-8489
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Skillsoft’s Big Data Initiative Delivers Improved Learning Engagement and Outcomes
NASHUA, N.H., November 18, 2014 – Skillsoft has completed a series of live customer pilots as part of its goal to deliver an enhanced adaptive learning experience through big data. The efforts are powered by combining data from Skillsoft’s 19 million users across 60,000 learning assets with IBM Research’s big data and analytics capabilities. The results of the pilot program revealed that empirical, data-driven learning experiences were able to distinctively enhance learner engagement.
Users’ responses to the individualized content formed the basis of the evaluation of the program. During the pilot, Skillsoft evaluated user interaction from direct email response behavior and learning patterns as well as through a survey of users and found concrete patterns indicating improved engagement with learning content, including:
29 percent of users clicked on at least one recommendation in their first email opened;
128 percent improvement in user engagement with content compared to the baseline; and
84 percent of users stated that one or more recommendations were relevant to them.
“We now have documented proof that harnessing analytics and big data leads to improved learner engagement,” said John Ambrose, Senior Vice President, Strategy & Corporate Development, Skillsoft. “This level of adaptive, personalized learning will be paramount in the Learning Age. As the skilled worker shortage impacts organizations around the world, it’s crucial that learners are engaged and given the right tools and content so they can quickly build their skills and fill the gap. Our work with big data is a key building block for that next generation of adaptive learning.”
Content interaction of learners was analyzed using advanced machine learning and optimization algorithms, and tested with approximately 32,000 learners during the pilot program. Each learner was presented with a unique set of content recommendations that were tailored to their specific needs, as inferred by the system based on user-content interactions, content relationships and timing of consumption patterns. Further, the recommendations were delivered via email at times deemed to be optimal for the individual user with a visual supporting explanation of the rationale of the recommendations.
“Working with Skillsoft was a tremendous opportunity to pair our analytics capabilities with the wealth of user behavior information Skillsoft is able to capture,” said Anshul Sheopuri, Manager of Consumer Modeling, IBM Research. “With the completion of the second phase of this program, we’re now able to demonstrate the power of big data in the learning space.”
Feedback from Skillsoft customers is reinforcing the value of improved learner engagement in skill acquisition and career development. “TELUS was excited and thankful to be considered as a partner in the big data pilot,” said Benny Ramos, Senior Career Development Consultant, TELUS. “We were encouraged by the resulting trends and implications of how the information could be used to provide a more personalized and dynamic experience for our learners. We believe this initiative aligns to our overall goal as an organization of raising overall engagement to make our learning programs more effective for career development.”
The next stage for the project will be to further fine-tune the algorithms and roadmap their implementation into Skillsoft’s products so its customers and learners can begin to realize the value demonstrated in the pilot program daily. Additionally, Skillsoft will expand its data sets to include the human resources (HR) information now available through its full learning-centric Talent Expansion suite, including the offerings from SumTotal Systems, a Skillsoft company. This includes learning, talent and workforce processes for SumTotal System’s 3,500 customers and 49 million users worldwide.
About Skillsoft
Skillsoft is a pioneer in the field of learning and Talent Management with a long history of innovation. Skillsoft provides cloud based learning solutions for its customers worldwide, ranging from global enterprises, government, and education to mid-sized and small businesses. Skillsoft's customer support teams draw on a wealth of in-house experience, flexible delivery platforms and a comprehensive learning e-library to develop off-the-shelf and custom learning programs tailored to cost-effectively meet customer needs. Skillsoft's courses, books and videos have been developed by industry leading learning experts to ensure that they maximize business skills, performance, and talent development.
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GP Strategies Awarded Training Contract With Major Power Generation Company
COLUMBIA, Md., Nov. 18, 2014 – Global performance improvement solutions provider GP Strategies Corporation has been awarded a two-year contract to provide training services at Eskom's Medupi Power Station, a coal-fired power plant currently under construction in South Africa.
This contract expands GP Strategies' current training program at Medupi to include the development of a comprehensive new operator training program and an Eskom instructor training program; both can be leveraged throughout the life of the plant to support continuous learning. Under this new contract, GP Strategies will develop and deliver critical operations training and qualification programs to plant staff.
“We are once again pleased with the vote of confidence Eskom has shown in GP Strategies with this new contract award to support additional operator training of the Medupi operators,” said William Green, Vice President, Energy Services at GP Strategies. “Our collective efforts will help to ensure that the operators of the last four units will be fully prepared to operate the plant in a safe, efficient and environmentally responsible manner,” added Green.
About GP Strategies GP Strategies Corporation is a global performance improvement solutions provider of training, eLearning solutions, management consulting and engineering services. GP Strategies' solutions improve the effectiveness of organizations by delivering innovative and superior training, consulting and business improvement services customized to meet the specific needs of its clients. Clients include Fortune 500 companies, manufacturing, process and energy industries, and other commercial and government customers.
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TrainingIndustry.com Announces Top 20 IT Training Companies List
CARY, NC, Nov. 20, 2014 – TrainingIndustry.com has announced its Top 20 IT Training Companies List, as part of its mission to continually monitor the training marketplace for the best providers of IT training.
View the 2014 Top 20 IT Training Companies
Selection to this year's Top 20 IT Training Companies List was based on the following criteria:
Leadership and innovation in IT training
Breadth of IT training and delivery methods offered
Company size and growth potential
Quality and number of clients/users
Geographic reach
Awards, recognition, and competitive differentiation
“The Top 20 IT Training Companies list continues to get stronger and more global in nature every year,” said Ken Taylor, Training Industry Inc.’s Chief Operating Officer. “We have added several new companies to the list this year, as we strive to showcase companies that can truly deliver the full portfolio of IT training that every corporation needs to provide their employees.”
“The organizations selected for the 2014 list showcase the best this segment of the industry has to offer,” said Doug Harward, Training Industry Inc.’s Chief Executive Officer. “This segment of the training industry continues to experience a shift in customer demand, from topics they want, to the modalities they want delivered.”
Email info@trainingindustry.com for thoughts or feedback regarding the list.
View the 2014 Top 20 IT Training Companies
About Training Industry, Inc.
TrainingIndustry.com spotlights the latest news, articles, case studies and best practices within the training industry. Our focus is on helping dedicated business and training professionals get the information, insight and tools needed to more effectively manage the business of learning.
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