Mountain View, CA – April 9, 2015 – LinkedIn, the world’s largest professional network on the Internet with more than 300 million members worldwide, today announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire lynda.com, a leading online learning company teaching business, technology and creative skills to help people achieve their professional goals. Based in Carpinteria, CA, lynda.com was co-founded in 1995 by Lynda Weinman and Bruce Heavin.
The transaction is valued at approximately $1.5 billion, subject to adjustment, in a combination of approximately 52 percent cash and approximately 48 percent stock. Subject to the completion of customary conditions, the acquisition is expected to close during the second quarter of 2015.
“The mission of LinkedIn and the mission of lynda.com are highly aligned,” said Jeff Weiner, CEO of LinkedIn. “Both companies seek to help professionals be better at what they do. lynda.com’s extensive library of premium video content helps empower people to develop the skills needed to accelerate their careers. When integrated with the hundreds of millions of members and millions of jobs on LinkedIn, lynda.com can change the way in which people connect to opportunity.”
Through a subscription to lynda.com’s service, individual members and organizations have access to a comprehensive collection of top quality courses taught by industry experts, offered in English, German, French, Spanish and Japanese. In addition to individual subscribers, lynda.com serves corporate, government and educational organizations through its lyndaEnterprise, lyndaPro, lyndaCampus, lyndaLibrary and lyndaKiosk products. As a leader of owned and operated premium skills content, lynda.com offers a massive library of high-quality courses.
"This is such an exciting moment in the 20-year history of lynda.com and I couldn't imagine a better pairing than lynda.com and LinkedIn," said Lynda Weinman, co-founder and executive chair of the board of lynda.com.
"In LinkedIn, we have found an incredible partner who shares our vision and passion for empowering people around the world to make real change in their lives through access to information, learning and professional development," said Eric Robison, CEO of lynda.com.
Following closing, most members of the lynda.com team are expected to join LinkedIn.
About LinkedIn
LinkedIn connects the world’s professionals to make them more productive and successful and transforms the ways companies hire, market and sell. Our vision is to create economic opportunity for every member of the global workforce through the ongoing development of the world’s first Economic Graph. LinkedIn has more than 300 million members and has offices around the world.
About lynda.com
lynda.com is a leading online learning company that helps people learn business, technology and creative skills to achieve personal and professional goals. Through individual, corporate, academic and government subscriptions, members have access to the lynda.com and Video2Brain video library of more than 6,300 engaging, top-quality courses and more than 267,000 video tutorials taught by recognized industry experts. The company also provides German, French and Spanish-language content under the video2brain brand name.
lynda.com, Inc. was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in Carpinteria, California with offices in San Francisco, London, Sydney and Graz. It is funded in part by Accel Partners, Spectrum Equity, TPG Capital and Meritech Capital Partners.
LinkedIn to Acquire lynda.com
↧
↧
LinkedIn to Acquire lynda.com for 1.5 Billion
Mountain View, CA – April 9, 2015 – LinkedIn, the world’s largest professional network on the Internet with more than 300 million members worldwide, today announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire lynda.com, a leading online learning company teaching business, technology and creative skills to help people achieve their professional goals. Based in Carpinteria, CA, lynda.com was co-founded in 1995 by Lynda Weinman and Bruce Heavin.
The transaction is valued at approximately $1.5 billion, subject to adjustment, in a combination of approximately 52 percent cash and approximately 48 percent stock. Subject to the completion of customary conditions, the acquisition is expected to close during the second quarter of 2015.
“The mission of LinkedIn and the mission of lynda.com are highly aligned,” said Jeff Weiner, CEO of LinkedIn. “Both companies seek to help professionals be better at what they do. lynda.com’s extensive library of premium video content helps empower people to develop the skills needed to accelerate their careers. When integrated with the hundreds of millions of members and millions of jobs on LinkedIn, lynda.com can change the way in which people connect to opportunity.”
Through a subscription to lynda.com’s service, individual members and organizations have access to a comprehensive collection of top quality courses taught by industry experts, offered in English, German, French, Spanish and Japanese. In addition to individual subscribers, lynda.com serves corporate, government and educational organizations through its lyndaEnterprise, lyndaPro, lyndaCampus, lyndaLibrary and lyndaKiosk products. As a leader of owned and operated premium skills content, lynda.com offers a massive library of high-quality courses.
"This is such an exciting moment in the 20-year history of lynda.com and I couldn't imagine a better pairing than lynda.com and LinkedIn," said Lynda Weinman, co-founder and executive chair of the board of lynda.com.
"In LinkedIn, we have found an incredible partner who shares our vision and passion for empowering people around the world to make real change in their lives through access to information, learning and professional development," said Eric Robison, CEO of lynda.com.
Following closing, most members of the lynda.com team are expected to join LinkedIn.
About LinkedIn
LinkedIn connects the world’s professionals to make them more productive and successful and transforms the ways companies hire, market and sell. Our vision is to create economic opportunity for every member of the global workforce through the ongoing development of the world’s first Economic Graph. LinkedIn has more than 300 million members and has offices around the world.
About lynda.com
lynda.com is a leading online learning company that helps people learn business, technology and creative skills to achieve personal and professional goals. Through individual, corporate, academic and government subscriptions, members have access to the lynda.com and Video2Brain video library of more than 6,300 engaging, top-quality courses and more than 267,000 video tutorials taught by recognized industry experts. The company also provides German, French and Spanish-language content under the video2brain brand name.
lynda.com, Inc. was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in Carpinteria, California with offices in San Francisco, London, Sydney and Graz. It is funded in part by Accel Partners, Spectrum Equity, TPG Capital and Meritech Capital Partners.
↧
RedVector Launches New Online Safety Training
Tampa, FL — April 10, 2015 — RedVector, the leading provider of online training to industrial businesses including chemical processing, power generation, oil and gas, metals and minerals, pulp and paper, food and beverage and pharmaceutical manufacturing organizations, has launched the following eight new mobile-ready safety training courses.
• Resource Conservation Recovery Act (RCRA): Hazardous Waste Training Requirements
• Corrosion Control: Transportation of Natural & Other Gases by Pipeline
• Spill Prevention, Control & Countermeasure (SPCC) Plans
• Emergency Plans & Response Training for Gas Pipelines
• Oil Spill Responses in Facilities
• R&D Chemical Hygiene
• Benzene: Safe Handling & Storage
• Vinyl Chloride: Safe Handling & Storage
Comprised of seven and a half hours of training, these courses outline safety standards including EPA and DOT requirements, propose solutions to both everyday safety challenges and emergency situations, and teach the safe handling, storage and transport of chemicals, oil and gas.
“We’re proud to launch safety training that can help industrial organizations and their employees further their safety culture and help them comply with critical EPA and DOT requirements,” said Dan McGonegle, industrial product director at RedVector. “We believe that investment in safety curriculum can greatly reduce injuries and illnesses and improve productivity and employee morale.”
Through this new RedVector training, gas pipeline facility professionals can learn proper corrosion control and transportation of natural gas, while R&D laboratory workers can gain valuable information about proper chemical storage and handling. The new courses also outline hazardous waste regulations, generator rules and Resource Conservation Recovery Act training requirements, as well as tools that can be used to prevent, contain, control and, if necessary, clean up an oil spill.
About RedVector Industrial
Founded on the idea that better training leads to better performance, RedVector provides comprehensive online training to industrial and facilities professionals so that they may work safely, maintain certifications and achieve operational excellence. With an online library exceeding 950 courses, RedVector serves organizations across the globe.
↧
The Training Associates Receives WBENC Certification
Westborough, MA – April 14, 2015 - The Training Associates (TTA), the largest provider of training talent and solutions, announced that the national certifying organization, Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC), has renewed TTA’s women-owned designation for the seventh consecutive year.
In order to receive its WBENC certification, TTA underwent a comprehensive renewal process that included a review of the company’s financial and tax information, corporate by-laws, articles of incorporation and an on-site visit.
”We are pleased once again that the WBENC organization has certified TTA as a women-owned business,” said Maria Melfa, president and CEO of The Training Associates. “Our certification allows our clients to satisfy their diversity set-aside requirements while receiving the expert training talent and solutions they need.”
ABOUT WBENC
Founded in 1997, WBENC is the leading third-party certifier of businesses owned and operated by women, with more than 12,000 WBENC-Certified WBEs. WBENC certification is accepted by more than 1,000 corporations representing America’s most prestigious brands, in addition to many states, cities and other entities. Throughout the year, WBENC and its 14 Regional Partner Organizations provide opportunities for interactions between more than 650 member corporations, government agencies and thousands of certified WBEs at business building events and other forums. WBENC is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that seeks and accepts donations from corporations, foundations and individuals that support its mission and programs.
ABOUT THE TRAINING ASSOCIATES Founded in 1994, The Training Associates is the largest, most recognized provider of on-demand learning and development talent and solutions. TTA's talent offerings feature over 25,000 L&D resources specializing in adult learning for all technologies and business/soft skills. Our services include our ability to undertake and manage projects of any size or scope related to the design, development and delivery of training.
↧
Corporate Visions Sales Messaging Survey Uncovers Less Than Half of Companies Do Not Expect Their Salespeople to Demonstrate Proficiency in Message Delivery
Larkspur, CA – April 14, 2015 – Corporate Visions, Inc., the leading marketing and sales messaging, tools and training company, today announced the results of a sales messaging survey that polled more than 500 business-to-business (B2B) marketers and salespeople from around the globe. The results revealed 85 percent of companies agree their sales teams’ ability to articulate value messages is one of the most critical factors in closing deals, yet only about 41 percent of companies ask their salespeople to perform stand-and-deliver or role-play practice of their messages. In fact, an alarming 34 percent of respondents indicate no one is responsible for coaching and certifying that salespeople are proficient in delivering their company’s value messages at all.
In the first question, respondents were asked to rate to what extent they agree with the following statement, “Our sales team’s ability to articulate our message is one of the most critical factors to closing deals.” Results indicated the following:
Strongly agree (53.8 percent)
Agree (31.6 percent)
Somewhat agree (12.5 percent)
Disagree (1.7 percent)
Strongly disagree (0.4 percent)
Respondents were then asked if they expect salespeople to practice delivering company value messages in role-play or stand-and-deliver settings, with the following results:
Every time (12.3 percent)
Most of the time (28.8 percent)
Sometimes (44.1 percent)
Usually not (12.2 percent)
Never (2.6 percent)
Then, respondents were asked to identify who or what department is responsible for ensuring that messages are practiced and coached. The results, which allowed respondents to select more than one option, included:
Their managers are responsible (49 percent)
The training organization is responsible (36.3 percent)
No one inspects messaging proficiency (34 percent)
“There’s a tragic irony occurring where everyone believes that salespeople with their lips moving is a company’s most powerful weapon for communicating value, but reasonable practice and inspection of competency is not a requirement,” said Tim Riesterer, chief strategy and marketing officer for Corporate Visions. “Even leaving it to sales managers, like most companies seem to do, is essentially a hit-or-miss proposition, given the pressure for pipeline and deal forecasts as well as the distributed nature of sales teams.”
In the final question, respondents were asked how often they require salespeople to submit videos of themselves delivering the messages for coaching and feedback:
Never (33.1 percent)
Usually not (36.6 percent)
Sometimes (21.3 percent)
Most of the time (6 percent)
All the time (3 percent)
“The last question of the survey reveals a missed opportunity for companies to differentiate themselves in the market by being more purposeful in sales messaging practice, coaching and certification,” Riesterer added. “Salespeople learn best by doing – and that means practicing in front of an audience to obtain feedback and receive coaching advice in environments that most closely resemble where sales conversations actually take place.”
About Corporate Visions, Inc.
Corporate Visions is a leading marketing company that helps global B2B companies create more sales opportunities, win more deals and increase sales profitability by improving the conversations salespeople have with customers. Corporate Visions helps clients such as ADP, Motorola, Philips, UPS, Cisco and others align marketing and sales with a repeatable approach for developing and delivering winning customer conversations.
↧
↧
MicroTek Delivers the Next Generation Classroom by Launching MicroTek Virtual Training Room
CHICAGO, IL− February, 2015− MicroTek is eager to announce that on Friday, February 13th, the company officially launched its newest and most innovative product, MicroTek Virtual Training Room (VTR). MicroTek VTR provides a hybrid learning approach that combines live, classroom training with the power and flexibility of a virtual environment.
“Launching VTR puts MicroTek at the forefront of delivering the Next Generation Classroom to a global market of customers,” said Hugh McCullen, MicroTek president. “This is the first step in evolving our training modality services to meet the expectations of future students.”
As enterprise-level companies continue to face obstacles to training including geographically dispersed workforces and reduced training budgets, MicroTek initiated the launch of a virtual training room to circumvent these concerns. MicroTek VTR was built to enable participants from remote locations to experience all of the benefits of classroom learning as if they were physically present.
“Our product enables customers to expand the reach of their training program while reducing travel costs and time spent away from the office,” said McCullen. “The result is a training program that provides a vast reach and all of the learning benefits of instructor-led training.”
MicroTek VTR utilizes the most advanced technology in the industry. By featuring two-way, high-definition audio and video communications tools, customizable configurations, a Virtual Learning Labs plug-in and full technical support, MicroTek VTR is an all-inclusive, virtual learning platform.
“It was paramount that our product meet the needs a of a diverse client base, which is why VTR was designed to be scalable,” McCullen added. “Its flexibility, combined with its cutting-edge collaboration tools, sets it apart from other virtual platforms within the training industry.”
MicroTek VTR is offered at 11 MicroTek owned and operated facilities throughout the United States.
About MicroTek
Since 1991, MicroTek has been the industry’s leading, single-source provider of training and meeting solutions. With a base of 12 major metro learning campuses nationwide and a network of over 3,000 fully vetted training sites worldwide, MicroTek is equipped to manage and execute any sized training program, anywhere in the world. MicroTek’s end-to-end training and meeting solutions include virtual platforms, event management, instructor deployment, courseware management, scheduling and project implementation. MicroTek was named a Top Training Company for the sixth consecutive year by Trainingindustry.com.
↧
TrainingIndustrycom Announces Training Outsourcing Companies Watch List
Cary, NC – April 16, 2015 – TrainingIndustry.com has announced its Training Outsourcing Companies Watch List, as part of its mission to continually monitor the training marketplace for the best providers of training services and technologies.
View the 2015 Training Outsourcing Companies Watch List
Selection to this year's Top 20 Training Outsourcing Companies List was based on the following criteria:
Innovative service offerings
Ability to provide services on a global basis
Unique and proven approach to Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) solutions
Quality of client served
“This year’s Training Outsourcing Watch List demonstrates the continued growth of this segment and the emerging competition,” said Ken Taylor, president, Training Industry, Inc. “The organizations on the Watch List are making great strides to provide quality and innovative services for their strong list of clientele.”
“Business Process Outsourcing is a key part of the training industry and this year’s Watch List exhibits the necessary strength and capability of companies to compete in that segment,” said Doug Harward, chief executive officer, Training Industry, Inc. “These companies are able to deliver superior learning service solutions that meet the content, administrative and technological needs of a constantly evolving market.”
Please provide any thoughts or feedback on this list by emailing info@trainingindustry.com.
View the 2015 Training Outsourcing Companies Watch List
About Training Industry, Inc.
TrainingIndustry.com spotlights the latest news, articles, case studies and best practices within the training industry. Our focus is to help dedicated businesses and training professionals get the information, insight and tools needed to more effectively manage the business of learning.
↧
Raytheon and Vista Equity Partners enter agreement to form new cybersecurity company
Waltham, MA− April 20, 2015− Raytheon Company has entered into a definitive agreement with Vista Equity Partners to form a new company combining Websense, a Vista portfolio company, with Raytheon Cyber Products, a business unit of Raytheon's Intelligence, Information and Services (IIS) segment. The new company will leverage Raytheon's advanced cybersecurity technologies and Websense's industry leading TRITON® platform to provide a new level of defense-grade cybersecurity to combat the evolving cyber threat environment.
"The market for advanced cyber solutions that protect and defend global industry and infrastructure is rapidly growing due to the sophisticated threats posed by well-funded, nation-state adversaries and criminal networks,” said Thomas A. Kennedy, Raytheon Company chairman and CEO. “As the business enterprise evolves to meet the networked demands of today's mobile and cloud economy, these threats will grow in size and scale. The new joint venture will combine Raytheon Cyber Products and Websense capabilities to deliver the advanced, defense-grade technology solutions needed to meet this evolving threat."
Raytheon's net cash contribution is approximately $1.57 billion for an 80.3 percent ownership of the joint venture. Raytheon will consolidate the results of the joint venture.
As part of the transaction, Raytheon will contribute $1.9 billion (net of cash acquired) to acquire Websense, of which $600 million will be in the form of an intercompany loan to the joint venture. Raytheon will also contribute the assets of Raytheon Cyber Products and related intellectual property, which is valued at $400 million.
The $1.9 billion in cash plus $400 million in value for Raytheon Cyber Products results in an enterprise value for the venture of $2.3 billion, with capitalization of $1.7 billion in equity and $600 million in intercompany debt to Raytheon. Vista Equity will subsequently invest approximately $335 million for a 19.7 percent equity stake in the new company.
"We believe the combination of Raytheon Cyber Products and Websense creates a strong foundation for growth in the cybersecurity market, especially in light of the combined technical, product and multi-channel strengths each brings to the table," said Brian Sheth, co-founder and president of Vista Equity Partners. "We are excited to invest in this new venture as we clearly see its ability to accelerate growth and create value for all parties."
Following successful completion of the transaction, the new company will be a separately reported Raytheon business segment. The CEO of the new company will be John R. McCormack, CEO of Websense. A Board of Directors will be established for the new company and will include representatives of both Raytheon and Vista Equity Partners.
"Commercial companies are evolving their infrastructure with cloud computing, mobility and the internet of things to stay competitive and, as a result, they have become more vulnerable than ever," said David C. Wajsgras, president of Raytheon Intelligence, Information and Services. "For nearly two decades, Raytheon has provided cybersecurity technology and support to some of the world's largest organizations, spanning government, retail and financial services. I am pleased to welcome John McCormack and the Websense team to Raytheon. Our joint venture will deliver the power of TRITON®, a market leading integrated security platform, with the strength of SureView® software products to protect commercial business across the globe."
"As a cybersecurity market leader, Websense provides a proven technology platform, a team with depth and breadth of industry experience, over 21,000 customers, and a delivery channel of over 2,200 partners," said John R. McCormack, CEO of Websense. "The opportunity to provide our growing customer base with Raytheon's patented technology positions us to serve customers as they manage the emerging and long-term cyber threat environment."
It is anticipated that the transaction will close in the second quarter of 2015, subject to regulatory approvals and other closing conditions.
About Raytheon Raytheon Company, with 2014 sales of $23 billion and 61,000 employees worldwide, is a technology and innovation leader specializing in defense, security and civil markets throughout the world. With a history of innovation spanning 93 years, Raytheon provides state-of-the-art electronics, mission systems integration and other capabilities in the areas of sensing; effects; and command, control, communications and intelligence systems, as well as cyber security and a broad range of mission support services. Raytheon is headquartered in Waltham, Mass.
About Vista Equity Partners Vista Equity Partners, a U.S.-based private equity firm with offices in Austin, Chicago and San Francisco, with more than $14 billion in cumulative capital commitments, currently invests in software, data and technology-based organizations led by world-class management teams with long-term perspective. Vista is a value-added investor, contributing professional expertise and multi-level support towards companies realizing their full potential. Vista's investment approach is anchored by a sizable long-term capital base, experience in structuring technology-oriented transactions, and proven management techniques that yield flexibility and opportunity in private equity investing.
About Websense Websense is a global leader in protecting organizations from the latest cyber-attacks and data theft. Websense TRITON® APX provides advanced, adaptive cyber security that protects critical data wherever it resides and gives actionable intelligence across the entire threat lifecycle. Websense comprehensive security solutions unify web, email, mobile, data and endpoint security to prevent data theft. More than 21,000 organizations across 155 countries rely on Websense to stop advanced persistent threats, targeted attacks and evolving malware. A global network of channel partners distributes, deploys and supports Websense solutions.
↧
Australian RWWA uses IMC Learning Suite for Compliance Training
Saarbrücken/Germany, Melbourne/Australia− April 20, 2015− onTrack, a version of the IMC Learning Suite created for Racing and Wagering Western Australia (RWWA) won a Platinum Award at the 2014 LearnX Impact Awards. IMC began working with RWWA, an organization that manages the long-term viability of racing in Western Australia, in 2013, to develop a customized learning platform for the 2,500 employees that make up their workforce. The result was the award winning version of the IMC Learning Suite, IMC’s Learning Management System called onTrack.
RWWA work in a heavily legislated industry and require a flexible and reliable LMS to manage and record their employee training. With TAB agents in 300 retail locations requiring up-to-date compliance training, they needed a solution that produced legally compliant records, while providing customized learning and encouraging connections between a large workforce.
IMC Learning Suite and IMC Content Studio, both used in the RWWA project, allow for customizable learning solutions in a variety of formats, tailoring content to the user and fostering engagement. The onTrack system is versatile, allowing for growth, expansion and adaptability along with changing processes, new requirements and a growing number of users.
onTrack was a cost effective solution as it combined a number of systems into one platform. This allowed RWWA to finally report on all users and training, as they previously had no central record for training and development. The platform is also available on multiple devices, making it easily accessible.
“onTrack has been invaluable to me in relation to leadership expectations around values and behaviors, building our culture and keeping my staff up to speed with general training requirements, as all information required is easily accessible,” said Rhonda Ebsary, call center and customer management manager. “Having a 24/7 system in place is of great value especially for my team who work in 24/7 shifts.”
About IMC:
IMC is an international leading full-service provider for digital learning. The product and service portfolio ranges from e-learning content, authoring and publishing solutions to learning and talent management suites. Multimedia and video productions as well as business process guidance and compliance solutions are also an integral part of IMC´s offering. Worldwide, IMC´s all-embracing technologies and services support more than 1,000 companies, public institutions and educational establishments of all sizes and in all sectors in the planning, developing and implementing of mature HR development strategies.
↧
↧
Simplilearn Announces 15 Million in Series C Funding
San Francisco, CA− April 23, 2015− Simplilearn, a leading edtech company providing certification courses to professionals, today announced it raised $15 million in Series C funding to continue to fuel the company’s impressive growth and success. The round was led by Mayfield, with existing investors Kalaari Capital and Helion Venture Partners also participating. With this round, Simplilearn has raised a total of $27 million in capital.
Simplilearn offers a multitude of training and certifications for business use and career advancement. The blended learning platform offers a combination of online classes, in-person workshops and corporate trainings, all led by Simplilearn’s over 2,000 qualified trainers. Courses span vendors, industries and platforms. Simplilearn offers training for everything from Advanced Cloud Computing to Six Sigma.
“Our strength has been in providing a wide range of certification-based courses that have direct impact on the learner’s career. This focus on impact has ensured that we continue to grow at an aggressive pace,” says Krishna Kumar, CEO of Simplilearn. “With more of our learners moving to mobile and online learning, the current funding will allow us to continue to invest in the platform, expand our course coverage, and also look at rapidly expanding in the U.S. and other primary markets.”
“Simplilearn has had an impressive growth over the last few years, and we are confident that this momentum will continue as more individuals seek professional certification(s) to succeed,” said Navin Chaddha, managing director of Mayfield. “We believe that the additional capital will allow Krishna and his team to grow even faster and outpace the market.”
“Certification training is a serious business, and we pride ourselves in guiding our customers to achieve career growth and success,” said Rajesh Raju, managing director of Kalaari Capital. “This team has made significant progress in this space, and the latest round will further strengthen our positioning in the U.S. and international markets.”
Simplilearn was founded in 2009, and launched its signature blended learning solution in early 2010. It is currently one of the largest certification training providers in the world, offering over 200 courses and over 40 global accreditations. More than 400,000 people have been certified using Simplilearn in courses including Hadoop, Six Sigma, PMP and SAP among others.
“The certification-based training industry is seeing a phenomenal growth, and Simplilearn is leading this from the front,” said Rahul Chowdhri, partner at Helion Venture Partners. “This additional capital infusion will allow them to aggressively invest and expand.”
Simplilearn is currently presenting its training solutions at DEMO in San Francisco.
About Simplilearn
Simplilearn is a leading provider of professional certification courses that addresses the unique learning needs of working professionals. With a large India-based back office that operates 24/7, Simplilearn provides unmatched customer experience, which handholds a customer – right from enrolling into an online course to getting industry-recognized certificate in hand. Simplilearn represents 20 certification bodies, prominent ones being PMI, Exelos, Scrum Alliance, Peoplecert, and The Open Group. Simplilearn is now diversifying into vendor certification like those from Microsoft, Cisco and Salesforce.
↧
The National Fund for Workforce Solutions Joins New Employer Led Movement to Expand Economic Opportunity for 24 Million American Workers
Boston, MA – April 24, 2015 − The National Fund for Workforce Solutions (National Fund) announced today that they have joined the nation’s top business leadership groups in launching UpSkill America, an employer-led movement dedicated to expanding economic opportunity for American workers through education and workforce development.
Since 2007, nearly 65,000 people have received career development services through training programs supported by the National Fund and its regional collaborative and business partners. There are 14 of the National Fund’s partnering businesses selected to participate in the UpSkill America White House Summit. The Summit will serve as an opportunity for employers from around the country to convene and collaborate on how to best invest in the skills of America’s workers and expand the national talent pipeline.
The National Fund’s employer partners span small, mid-size, and large businesses in manufacturing, health care and other industries. Employers represented at the UpSkill America White House Summit include: Urban Health Plan, Fives Machining Systems, Norton Healthcare Inc., TriHealth, Greater Boston Hospitality Employers, Universal Woods Inc., Austal USA, UnityPoint Health, Global Partner Solutions, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, EcoMize USA, Genesis HealthCare, MetaPhase Technologies and Jersey City Medical Center Barnabas Health.
“We applaud the work of these employers from a variety of our nation’s fastest growing and most evolving industries,” said Fred Dedrick, executive director of the National Fund to Workforce Solutions. “We are elated that they have the opportunity to attend the White House Summit and showcase their hard work and commitment to investing in their workforce. The National Fund is committed to working hands-on with employers to help American workers seize the opportunity for better paying jobs with better wages.”
As the nation’s economy continues to improve, National Fund has recognized that many employers are struggling to find skilled workers with the capabilities to fill the jobs they have available. At the same time, tens of millions of American workers in low-wage jobs could be trained to fill more skilled roles. The National Fund’s mission is to work with its employer partners to support efforts to get workers on an upward and mobile career path.
“As a Registered Nurse for 33 years and employee of Genesis HealthCare, I am excited and thankful to be recognized by the White House and to participate in the Upskill America White House Summit,” said Deborah Rowe, vice president of Genesis HealthCare. “It is important that we invest in skill development and career advancement for our front line workers, and we need to share our successes and best practices. Representing Genesis HealthCare, I am proud to say that a core belief is that our employees are the vital link to patients and residents. They are the service we provide, the product we deliver, and our most valuable resource.”
In the coming months, the National Fund in collaboration with UpSkill America, is hoping to be a catalyst for change for these workers through its three-part mission:
Recognizing leading employers that have developed promising approaches to provide training and career development for their workers
Encouraging the widespread adoption of business practices that foster expanded economic opportunity for hard-working Americans
Fostering education and workforce development programs to support businesses and workers to a better job and career.
Along with the National Fund, a coalition of other members will lead this effort, including:
Bay Area Council
Business Champions
Business Leaders United for Workforce Partnerships
Committee for Economic Development of The Conference Board
HR Policy Foundation
Small Business Majority
The Aspen Institute Skills for America’s Future
The Council for Adult and Experiential Learning
About the National Fund for Workforce Solutions
The National Fund for Workforce Solutions is a growing national partnership of businesses, education and training providers, policy makers, and local and national funders working to build employment opportunities for workers while also helping businesses secure critical skills. Together they invest in more than 30 communities and 75 industry partnerships to strengthen local economies by implementing demand-driven and employer-led workforce strategies that create talent supply chains, close skill gaps, and improve workforce practices and policies.
↧
MicroTek and Skytap Partner to Deliver Virtual Learning Labs for the Next Generation Classroom
Chicago, IL − April 24, 2015− MicroTek, the leading provider of global business training solutions, announces a partnership with Skytap, Inc., the innovator of on-demand “Environments as a Service” (EaaS), to deliver cloud-based Virtual Learning Labs to support MicroTek’s Next Generation Classroom.
Skytap was selected as a MicroTek Learning Solutions Partner (LSP) because of their best-in-class training environments that deliver superior user experience, technical performance, low cost to operate and seamless integration into traditional classroom and virtual learning scenarios. This partnership enhances MicroTek’s portfolio of training services to deliver cloud-based training environments to customers worldwide.
“The high-performance environments of our training facilities combined with the power of Skytap’s virtual lab platform enable our clients to experience the highest level of knowledge transfer within a virtual training space,” said Hugh McCullen, MicroTek President.
Virtual Learning Labs allow users to access complex software configurations in secure, cloud-based environments from any device and from any location. Users can experience a hands-in or hands-on training lab without the need to purchase hardware to run applications. End-to-end product implementation and support is what sets MicroTek apart from competitors in the market, whose offerings tend to be highly complex, and put the onus on the customer to learn and support the technology.
“This is a great solution for customers with fluctuating classroom sizes, geographically dispersed learners or for those who just want to provide students with the flexibility to take training from anywhere,” said McCullen.
MicroTek Virtual Learning Labs are offered in MicroTek’s Learning Experience Packages to further enhance the experience and success of their customer training events.
“Combining MicroTek’s deep experience delivering custom-fit training solutions with Skytap’s on-demand virtual classroom environments and powerful API for integration provides MicroTek’s customers with best-in-class, instructor-led and virtual training experiences,” said Thor Culverhouse, CEO of Skytap.
About MicroTek
Since 1991, MicroTek has been the industry’s leading, single-source provider of training and meeting solutions. With a base of 12 major metro learning campuses nationwide and a network of over 3,000 fully vetted training sites worldwide, MicroTek is equipped to manage and execute any sized training program—anywhere in the world. MicroTek’s end-to-end training and meeting solutions include virtual platforms, event management, instructor deployment, courseware management, scheduled and project implementation. MicroTek was named a Top Training Company for the sixth consecutive year by Trainingindustry.com.
About Skytap, Inc.
Skytap provides Environments-as-a-Service (EaaS) to transform the software development lifecycle and help customers deliver better software, faster. Today’s enterprise is challenged to continuously deliver new customer-facing applications, while overcoming increasing change and complexity in IT infrastructures. Our customers use Skytap to manage, share, deploy and decommission on-demand environments that contain everything needed to collaborate at each phase of the SDLC, without unnecessary costs and project delays due to manual configuration and dependencies. Enterprise IT organizations maintain full visibility and cost control, while allowing development and training teams to self-provision labs and share complex environments with ease, for a lasting boost to agile DevOps initiatives.
↧
Corinthian Announces Cessation of Effectively All Operations
Santa Ana, CA− April 27, 2015− Corinthian Colleges, Inc. announced that the company has ceased substantially all operations and discontinued instruction at its remaining 28 ground campuses. The company is working with other schools to provide continuing educational opportunities for its approximately 16,000 students. Corinthian said those efforts depend to a great degree on cooperation with partnering institutions and regulatory authorities.
Campuses closed include Corinthian’s 13 remaining Everest and WyoTech campuses in California, Everest College Phoenix and Everest Online Tempe in Arizona, the Everest Institute in New York, and 150-year-old Heald College—including its ten locations in California, one in Hawaii and one in Oregon.
Since signing an operating agreement with the U.S. Department of Education in July 2014, the company has been focused on completing the orderly sale or wind-down of all of its schools. In November 2014, the company announced that it had entered into an agreement to sell 56 Everest and WyoTech campuses to Zenith Education Group, Inc., a subsidiary of ECMC Group. As part of that sale, Zenith also agreed to conclude the teach-out process at 12 additional schools that were being closed. That transaction was completed in February of this year for all but three locations, the Everest College Phoenix campuses in Phoenix and Mesa, AZ, and Everest Institute in Rochester, NY. As a result of the sale, nearly forty thousand students were able to continue their studies and thousands of employees kept their jobs. Zenith has recently advised
Corinthian that it will not consummate the purchase of Everest College Phoenix, and the closing conditions have not been satisfied for Everest Institute Rochester.
In parallel, the company had been in advanced negotiations with several parties to both sell the 150-year-old Heald College and to arrange for teach-out partners to allow its Everest College and WyoTech students in California to continue their education. The company said these efforts were unsuccessful largely as a result of federal and state regulators seeking to impose financial penalties and conditions on buyers and teach-out partners.
“We believe that we have attempted to do everything within our power to provide a quality education and an opportunity for a better future for our students,” said Jack Massimino, CEO of Corinthian. “Unfortunately the current regulatory environment would not allow us to complete a transaction with several interested parties that would have allowed for a seamless transition for our students. I would like to thank our employees for their selfless dedication and commitment to fulfilling the educational and career goals of all of our students.”
The company said that its historic graduation rate and job placement rates compared favorably with community colleges. Corinthian also said that approximately 40 percent of its students previously attended a traditional higher education institution where their needs had not been met before attending a Corinthian school.
“Colleges like ours fill an important role in the broader education system and address a critical need that remains largely unmet by community colleges and other public sector schools,” Massimino said. “Overall, our schools did a good job for the students they served. We made every effort to address regulators’ concerns in good faith. Neither our Board of Directors, our management, our faculty, nor our students believe these schools deserved to be forced to close.”
About Corinthian:
Corinthian was one of the largest post-secondary education companies in North America. It offered diploma and degree programs that prepared students for careers in demand or for advancement in their chosen fields. Program areas included health care, business, criminal justice, transportation technology and maintenance, construction trades and information technology.
↧
↧
The Training Associates Forms Strategic Partnership with Manager Mechanics
Westborough, MA− April 30, 2015− The Training Associates (TTA), the largest provider of training talent and solutions, announced a partnership with Manager Mechanics, a leading provider of soft skills curriculum for IT personnel. “We are pleased to enter into this partnership with Manager Mechanics and to be able to offer a much needed solution that helps fill a void by providing IT staff and leaders with the specifically designed soft skills training they need to realize their full potential,” said Maria Melfa, president and CEO of The Training Associates. “This partnership is truly a win-win."
The combination of TTA's 25,000 contract training resources and Manager Mechanics' courseware offerings will enable TTA's partners to offer a niche training solution specifically geared toward the professional development of IT personnel. Topics include IT leadership development, the business of IT, IT professional growth and more.
"This is an ideal business relationship,” said Eric Bloom, president of Manager Mechanics. “The Training Associates has incredible market reach, excellent distribution, and a strong client service focus. Manager Mechanics has industry leading, unique IT leadership and IT business/soft skills training courses. Working together, we offer a bundled solution that addresses a previously underserved need for technical staff looking to advance into leadership roles in their field." ABOUT MANAGER MECHANICS Manager Mechanics is an industry leader in IT leadership and IT soft skills training with the proven ability to deliver training in multiple formats including the classroom, live online, and via web-based on-demand video. With thousands of pages of training materials, representing over one hundred IT leadership and IT soft skills topics, Manager Mechanics has the unique ability to tailor private corporate classes to meet the specific business and training needs of its clients. ABOUT THE TRAINING ASSOCIATES (TTA) Founded in 1994, The Training Associates is the largest, most recognized provider of on-demand learning and development talent and solutions. TTA's talent offerings feature over 25,000 L&D resources specializing in adult learning for all technologies, business/soft skills, and learning modalities. Our services include our ability to undertake and manage projects of any size or scope related to the design, development and delivery of training.
↧
MicroTek President to Keynote at Training Industry, Inc.’s Conference & Expo
May 1, 2015−Chicago, IL− MicroTek, an industry leader in the delivery of training room rentals, virtual training solutions, meeting services and large training roll-outs, announces that Hugh McCullen, MicroTek President, will be a keynote on “The Next Generation Classroom Experience” at Training Industry, Inc.’s Conference & Expo (TICE).
As a second time speaker at TICE, McCullen’s “Next Generation Classroom” talk will discuss the challenges of traditional learning and with the adoption of Next Generation Classroom learning leaders can overcome challenges to evolve the learner experience.
“By leveraging virtual and blended learning environments and increasing the degree to which students interact with live instructors and training content we can expand the opportunities to create a truly robust learning experience,” said McCullen.
To complement the presentation, MicroTek will demonstrate live, their most innovative product to date, Virtual Training Room, which launched earlier this year as part of The Next Generation Classroom. Attendees will be able to experience the product in real-time by connecting with MicroTek sites around the country and take a tour of its robust interface.
TICE will be held at the Raleigh Convention Center in Raleigh, NC from May 5-7 and was created to connect learning leaders from around the globe to share ideas and explore innovations in training. The three-day conference features informative learning sessions on strategies for improving organizational performance, networking opportunities and an Expo, where training suppliers present innovative products and services that enhance learning.
“The Expo is the perfect forum to connect, network and collaborate with like-minded peers and have the opportunity to discuss strategists with thought leaders whose ideas have molded the development of training programs around the world,” said McCullen. “We are once again looking forward to this exciting opportunity. MicroTek is eager to share our newest technologies and innovations with the marketplace.”
About MicroTek
Since 1991, MicroTek has been the industry’s leading, single-source provider of room rentals and training and meeting solutions. With a base of 12 major metro learning campuses nationwide and a network of over 3,000 fully vetted training sites worldwide, MicroTek is equipped to manage and execute any sized training program—anywhere in the world. MicroTek’s end-to-end training and meeting solutions include virtual platforms, event management, instructor deployment, courseware management, scheduling and project implementation. MicroTek was named a Top Training Company for the sixth consecutive year by Trainingindustry.com.
About Training Industry, Inc.
TrainingIndustry.com is a destination for the latest news, articles, case studies and best practices within the training industry. Their focus is to help dedicated businesses and training professionals get the information, insight and tools needed to more effectively manage the business of learning.
↧
Skillsoft Announces Acquisition of Vodeclic
Dublin, Ireland and Nashua, NH – May 7, 2015− Skillsoft Limited, a global leader in learning and talent management, has completed the acquisition of Vodeclic SAS, a leading provider of new generation video courses, through its indirect subsidiary Skillsoft France SARL. Vodeclic solutions help companies, universities and professionals improve skills proficiency with the growing number of digital productivity applications used daily on the job, on the go, and on mobile devices of all types. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
“Vodeclic is a natural complement to our existing portfolio of proven learning solutions as organizations look to address the daily needs and questions of learners via a seamless, on-demand platform,” said Skillsoft CEO Chuck Moran. “We know that no two people learn in the same way, and Vodeclic’s purpose-built video solution provides yet another option for organizations large and small looking to accelerate higher levels of digital skills proficiency.”
Founded in 2007 and based in Paris, Vodeclic delivers its library of more than 25,000 short, highly engaging video tutorials via a purpose-built and easy-to-navigate cloud-based platform. Vodeclic’s content covers a broad range of highly sought after subjects for today’s digital professionals, ranging from Office 365, Excel, Prezi, and Photoshop, to Evernote, Salesforce, and Google Apps, and features an optimized production model that enables rapid release of new video courses to keep users current with the ever-evolving landscape of productivity applications. The company offers both its platform and its content in six different languages, ideal for organizations that need to provide consistent and high quality training to global audiences in the most widely used languages.
Vodeclic’s platform offers a variety of innovative features including:
Interactive assessments that validate knowledge retention
Hyper-personalized dashboard that displays ongoing visual analytics on the learner’s progress
Social Learning features including badges and certificate of completion
“We look forward to joining the Skillsoft family,” said Vodeclic co-founder and CEO Xavier Sillon. “I am excited about what we, together, can offer to our customers when we pair our user-friendly multilingual platform with Skillsoft’s proven track record of helping organizations meet their performance objectives.”
The addition of Vodeclic’s content and intuitive, on-demand platform will provide additional choices for customers looking to provide training and on-going performance support to their learners in all areas of an organization. The Vodeclic solution will leverage Skillsoft’s expertise in instructional design and include integrated assessments for each video course which provides targeted insight into learners’ skill gaps as well as recommended areas for development.
“Sustainable organizational growth often depends on the successful implementation of engaging world-class learning programs that improve organizational agility,” said John Ambrose, Skillsoft senior vice president, strategy and corporate development. “Vodeclic’s on-demand learning solution further strengthens our position as a leader in global talent development and helps our customers better adapt to the unique needs of today’s learner. We find this solution to be a particularly good fit for organizations large and small seeking an agile approach to complement formal employee development programs.”
About Skillsoft
Skillsoft is a pioneer in the fields 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. Skillsoft currently serves over 6,000 customers and more than 19,000,000 learners around the world.
About Vodeclic
Vodeclic is an enterprise learning solution for desktop and collaborative skills. With over 25,000 how-to videos in six languages (English, German, French, Spanish, Portuguese and Mandarin Chinese), Vodeclic is a cloud-based solution designed to help users enhance their digital, internet and collaborative skills. The solution features courses and learning tools for all users, as well as business analytics and APIs for enterprise customers, from SMB to Fortune 500.
↧
Corporate Visions Unveils Deal Stage-Specific Reinforcement Content to Drive Skills Training Adoption and Retention for Enhanced Sales Effectiveness
Larkspur, CA – May 7, 2015 – Corporate Visions, Inc., the leading marketing and sales messaging, tools and training company, announced the launch of Virtual Coach, a platform that provides deal stage-specific reinforcement training and skills content. With Virtual Coach, salespeople can access short, powerful and situationally-relevant audio, video and interactive coaching inside of their customer relationship management (CRM) system.
Training events alone aren’t enough to drive full adoption, usage and retention of new sales skills. Salespeople often struggle to remember and apply what they‘ve learned to the wide variety of selling situations they face. Making the problem worse, managers often lack the time and tools needed to reinforce training through ongoing coaching.
Virtual Coach overcomes these challenges by providing salespeople with just-in-time, bite-sized pieces of training reinforcement. Salespeople can access situation-specific content in their company’s CRM platform or sales portal. Virtual Coach presents the information in context and aligns it with each selling or buying stage. As a result, salespeople gain mastery of critical customer conversations throughout the buying cycle.
“Salespeople leave training sessions with the motivation to apply what they’ve learned, but without continuous reinforcement, it’s easy for them to forget new skills or fail to adopt them,” said Tim Riesterer, chief strategy and marketing officer for Corporate Visions. “We’re supplementing training events with virtual skills reinforcement and coaching so salespeople can be prompted to use techniques that are relevant to their exact stage in the selling cycle. Not only will this improve the application and proficiency of new selling techniques, but it will also ultimately lead to greater sales effectiveness and more closed deals.”
Corporate Visions’ Virtual Coach offering is powered by MobilePaks’ Guided Selling technology, which intelligently predicts content and enablement support for sellers at each point of the sales process, and includes tools for guiding content development in the way sellers learn, retain and use information.
About Corporate Visions, Inc.
Corporate Visions is a leading marketing and sales messaging, tools, and skills company that helps global B2B companies create more sales opportunities, win more deals and increase sales profitability by improving the conversations salespeople have with customers. Companies engage Corporate Visions to help in three key areas:
Developing compelling messages to break the status quo, differentiating their solution, justifying a purchase decision and protecting margins
Deploying that message through tools and visual stories to enable salespeople to engage multiple decision-makers across the buying cycle
Delivering sales skills training that helps salespeople confidently use these messages and tools to create, elevate and capture more value in their customer conversations
↧
↧
2015 Training Industry Editorial Awards Announced
CARY, NC – May 11, 2015 – Training Industry recently announced its 2015 Readership and Editors’ Awards at the Training Industry Conference and Expo in Raleigh, NC.
The Training Industry Readership Award recognizes 10 of the most-read articles published on TrainingIndustry.com and Training Industry Magazine from the past year. The winners were selected based on readership appeal and attention.
Here are the 2015 Readership Award recipients:
Five Things Proactive Sales Managers Do Differently By Kevin Davis, TopLine Leadership
Women, Leadership and Emotional Intelligence By Dr. Shawn Andrews, Allergan
How Games Drive Learning By Gregg Collins, NIIT
How Training is Like Vacuuming By Peter Hochstaetter, Siemens Healthcare
Raising the Bar: The Impact of Sales Training on Effective Customer Engagement By Steve Andersen & Craig Jones, PMI
What L&D Professionals Need to Know About Gamification By Karl Kapp, Professor & Author
L&D for the Next Generation of Leaders By Sean Graber, Virtuali
Gamification in Sales Training: Seven Critical Considerations Before the Games Begin By Jeb Brooks, The Brooks Group
From Mind-full to Mindful: The Intention/Instruction Intersection By Julie Winkle Giulioni, Author
The Currency of Trust: The Difference between Flourishing and Floundering By Kimberly Gerber, Excelerate
The Training Industry Editors’ Award recognizes two articles that captured the attention of both the readership and the Training Industry editorial team, had a unique perspective on the topic area and displayed diligent research and quality writing.
Here are the 2015 Editors’ Award recipients:
The Business Leader’s Bottom Line: Aligning Learning with Organizational Needs By Ajay Pangarkar & Teresa Kirkwood, Authors
The Language of Measurement: When to Assess, Evaluate and Test By John Mattox, Corporate Executive Board, & Michele Graham, KPMG
“This collection of articles represents some of the most popular articles published on TrainingIndustry.com and Training Industry Magazine this past year,” said Ken Taylor, president and editor in chief, Training Industry, Inc. “We are proud of the quality of the content provided by our contributors and we’re pleased to recognize the articles that resonated most with our readership.”
“It’s great to see the various ideas and topics expressed in our top articles of the year,” said Doug Harward, chief executive officer, Training Industry, Inc. “We would like to thank all the award winners for sharing their thoughts and perspectives with our audience to better understand the business of learning.”
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.
↧
MHI Global, a TwentyEighty Company, Announces Acquisition of CSO Insights
Denver, CO − May 12, 2015 − MHI Global, a leading worldwide company devoted to empowering growth through customer management excellence, has acquired CSO Insights, a sales effectiveness research and benchmarking firm. The acquisition, which took place May 5, integrates CSO Insights within the MHI Research Institute, a division of MHI Global, resulting in an unparalleled depth of sales performance research, data and expertise.
Byron Matthews, president and general manager of MHI Global, emphasizes that this acquisition will provide sales leaders highly credible resources to grow profitable revenue by offering a portfolio of research-based assets including benchmark studies, global sales performance research, and advisory services.
"The powerful combination of data and expertise from CSO Insights and the MHI Research Institute allows us to offer best-in-class sales performance data and research,” said Matthews. “In doing so, we are helping our clients to connect the dots by solving for complex B2B sales strategic issues."
"The MHI Research Institute was founded to provide clients with access to a highly credible, trusted research resource where sales leaders could go to understand the strategic issues that are affecting the performance and productivity of the B2B sales force," says Joe Galvin, Chief Research Officer of the MHI Research Institute. "This acquisition augments the already impressive library of B2B data and research we offer by adding the long-held wisdom of CSO Insights to our own wealth of information at the MHI Research Institute."
Jim Dickie, managing partner and co-founder of CSO Insights, says the acquisition is a win for both companies, as well as for clients.
"For over two decades, we've amassed industry surveys, reports, assessments, studies and benchmark analyses covering various industries and helped our sales leader clients by sharing research they could respect and trust globally,” said Dickie. “This move expands our research capabilities and broadens our reach."
Barry Trailer, managing partner and co-founder of CSO Insights, says the acquisition is the best thing that could have happened to CSO Insights, as it gives them a truly global reach to connect with a community of over 250,000 professionals to understand the challenges facing sales organizations, why those problems exist, and then share what companies are doing to optimize their performance moving forward.
"We are excited to be joining forces with the leading sales performance company in the world," says Trailer.
"We have, undisputedly, become the premier resource to turn to when it comes to the application of knowledge and experience," continues Galvin. "There is no competitor in this space that can match the behavioral research of MHI Research Institute combined with the performance and results-based research of CSO Insights."
About MHI Research Institute
The MHI Research Institute, a division of MHI Global, is known for producing the Sales Best Practices Study. The study, now in its 12thyear, captures and measures the behaviors, attributes and achievements that drive world-class sales performance in the business-to-business selling landscape.
About MHI Global MHI Global works with organizations across all verticals around the world to build and sustain customer-focused, high-performance enterprises that drive profitable, predictable top-line growth. We work with our clients by sharing our vision and expertise on how to more effectively engage with customers. Dedicated to customer management excellence, our unrivaled capabilities come from the combined expertise of powerhouse brands that make up MHI Global: AchieveGlobal, Channel Enablers, Huthwaite, Impact Learning Systems and Miller Heiman.
About CSO Insights
For more than 15 years, CSO Insights has surveyed thousands of chief sales officers to learn the challenges they see as most critical to their business. In doing so, the organization benchmarks the challenges faced by today's sales and marketing organizations. In addition, the firm tracks trends in the use of people, processes, technology and knowledge, and uses that data to improve sales effectiveness. Company leaders have authored numerous articles and they travel the country speaking at major sales and marketing conferences to share research on sales effectiveness.
↧
Raytheon Secures European Training Outsource Contract with Honda Motor Europe Limited
Ruesselsheim, Germany− May 18, 2015 − Raytheon Professional Services GmbH (RPS), a subsidiary of Raytheon Company, has signed a long-term contract with Honda Motor Europe Limited for the outsourcing of all development of their Pan-European dealer training, as well as domestic training delivery operations in the UK and Germany.
As part of the contract, RPS will manage Pan-European curriculum content development, product launch training and learning management system administration and support. RPS' training services will cover Honda's complete product range including cars, motorcycles and power products, and will extend to all sales, aftersales, technical and management personnel.
The contract also includes the outsourcing and management of Honda's accredited apprenticeship program, across the whole product range, in the UK. Students will be able to achieve either an intermediate (level 2) or advanced (level 3) apprenticeship through the program.
"We have full confidence in the capabilities and solutions RPS will be able to deliver for us," said Derek Crawford, general manager of the customer division for Honda Motor Europe Limited. "We pride ourselves on the levels of customer satisfaction provided by the Honda dealer network. With RPS's expert knowledge of the automotive sector, we believe Honda's dealer network will continue to develop over time through the implementation of highly effective and efficient learning programs. We look forward to a strong and successful partnership."
Honda's current European headquarters in Bracknell, UK, has approximately 9,000 employees working for the Honda business, and 19,000 people working in Honda dealerships across Europe, a large percentage of whom work in dealerships across the UK and Germany.
"Honda Motor Europe Limited has aggressive goals to deliver increasingly innovative training and learning services to their dealers to drive performance," said Mark Oliver, managing director of Raytheon Professional Services EMEA. "RPS has been successfully providing similar services around the globe, and we'll use the skills and expertise gained from other engagements and regions to implement industry-leading solutions that are aligned with Honda's key business requirements."
Under the new contract RPS began transition activities in April.
About Raytheon
Raytheon Company, with 2014 sales of $23 billion and 61,000 employees worldwide, is a technology and innovation leader specializing in defense, security and civil markets throughout the world. With a history of innovation spanning 93 years, Raytheon provides state-of-the-art electronics, mission systems integration and other capabilities in the areas of sensing; effects; and command, control, communications and intelligence systems, as well as cyber security and a broad range of mission support services. Raytheon is headquartered in Waltham, Mass.
↧
More Pages to Explore .....
