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 BOB
MOSHER JOINS LEARNINGGUIDE
 Bob
Mosher has swapped his role of Director of Learning Strategy and
Evangelism at Microsoft for that of Global Chief of Learning Strategy
and Evangelism at Netherlands-based LearningGuide
Solutions, a provider of performance support using its LearningGuide
content and LearningGuide Manager software application. Mosher has
become extremely well-known throughout the learning industry as
a pioneer of new approaches to learning. Before joining Microsoft,
he worked for ElementK for 16 years, and earlier as a public school
teacher. Nov 2006
INSTITUTE
AWARDS SHORTLIST PUBLISHED
The Institute of IT Training has published the shortlist for each
of the 11 categories of annual awards. IT Skills Research members
Training Camp UK, KnowledgePool Group and PPI Learning make up half
of the candidates for Training Company of the Year. The full list
can be seen on the Institute's
website. The Award winners will be announced at a ceremony sponsored
by the (ITSR member) British Computer Society on 1st February next
year. The event will again be hosted by TV broadcaster Lucy Alexander
and take place at The Dorchester, in Park Lane, London.Nov
2006
WOLCE
AWARDS 2006
 The
World of Learning Awards 2006 were presented at a gala dinner at
the NEC Birmingham on 14 November. Training provider of the year
(sponsored by Sundial) was TurningPoint® by Steljes, while blended
solution of the year (sponsored by Academee) was won by Comet Group.
Jeremy Hall of Hall Marketing gained the award for Outstanding Contribution
to the Training Industry (sponsored by Intec Business Colleges).
The full list of winners can be seen here.
Nov 2006
THOMSON
PROMETRIC PARTNERS WITH GLOBAL KNOWLEDGE
 Thomson
Prometric and Global Knowledge have announced a two-year enhanced
partnership agreement to provide testing services through Global
Knowledge's network of more than 25 locations in Europe. A variety
of IT certification exams will be offered including those from Microsoft,
Cisco, CompTIA and many others. As well as testing services, both
companies will also provide flexible learning solutions to  corporate
customers. Prometric will expand its utilisation of Global Knowledge's
network of testing locations and will be enhancing its range of
deliverables to provide Academic and Professional testing for clients.
Nov 2006
LEARNING
TECHNOLOGIES 2007
 Learning
Technologies, Europe's premier organisational learning event, now
in its eighth year, returns on Wednesday 31st January and Thursday
1st February 2007, at London Olympia. It will offer 120 exhibitors,
more than 40 free seminars, sessions and workshops, and a three-track
conference with 40 speakers. The 2007 event will be part of Learning
& Skills Week, and over 3,000 visitors are expected. See website
for details. Nov 2006
MARKET
LEADER REBRANDS AS QA-IQ
 Following
the merger of QA and InterQuad in June to create the largest IT
training provider in the UK, QA InterQuad has announced the re-launch
of the company as QA-IQ. Offering over 600 courses, QA-IQ says it
has boosted its range of own-brand training as well as strengthening
key relationships with leading technology vendors. It has expanded
its range of approved Oracle curriculum, and added new management
and personal development courses to its existing range of business
skills training. The company’s new website is at www.qa-iq.com
Nov 2006
NEW
ITQ PROVIDER GUIDE
The new ITQ Provider Guide, developed jointly by e-skills UK and
the Learning and Skills Council (LSC), is now available for download.
The Guide is aimed primarily at developing best practice in ITQ
delivery, and also includes information on becoming an ITQ provider
and the latest funding information from the LSC. The release of
the Provider Guide coincides with the publication of six new case
studies on the ITQ website, addressing different aspects of delivery
from different providers. Nov 2006
GLOBAL
KNOWLEDGE LAUNCHES COMPLETE CISCO SOLUTION
Global
Knowledge is the first company to offer Cisco Channel Partners in
North America and Europe a comprehensive training solution which
maps to all of the new Cisco specialisations by job role: Foundations,
Advanced Unified Communications, Advanced Routing and Switching,
Advanced Security, and Advanced Wireless. Working with Cisco Systems
and select channel partners, Global Knowledge has developed a program
focused on the specific needs of the Cisco reseller community. Earlier
this year, Global Knowledge received the prestigious Learning Solutions
Partner of the Year award from Cisco Systems. Nov
2006
SFIA
CONFERENCE TO EMPHASIZE PROFESSIONALISM
The 2006 SFIA Skills Management Conference on 9 November in London
will focus on the role of the Skills Framework for the Information
Age (SFIA) in the Professionalism in IT (ProfIT) programme. There
will also be an exhibition at which BCS will be showcasing SFIAPlus,
which contains the SFIA framework of IT skills plus detailed training
and development resources. Other SFIA partners and members will
exhibit tools and services directly relevant to skills management.
Exhibitors include QA-IQ, Parity Training, InfoBasis, IKM TechChek,
e-skills UK, IET, and IMIS. Nov 2006
COMPTIA
SECURITY+ TO BE REFRESHED
 CompTIA
has begun the process to refresh the content of the CompTIA Security+
exam to more accurately reflect security issues faced by the IT
industry today. CompTIA Security+ validates knowledge of communication
security, infrastructure security, cryptography, operational security
and general security concepts. CompTIA has also announced the make-up
of its new 2006-07 advisory committee for the Security+ certification.
Nearly 30,000 IT professionals around the world currently hold CompTIA
Security+ certification. Nov 2006
IITT
COMMENDS KNOWLEDGEPOOL
KnowledgePool, the managed learning services company, has been re-accredited
- for the sixth successive year - by the Institute of IT Training
(IITT). With over 40 years' experience in the training industry,
KnowledgePool is a leading provider of vendor-independent managed
learning services. A growing number of major organisations - including
British Airways, Merrill Lynch, the Home Office, Lloyds TSB, and
Orange - have outsourced the management of their learning and development
activities to KnowledgePool. Nov 2006
IBM
AND IET LAUNCH PD SCHEME
The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) and IBM have
launched a professional development scheme “to benchmark standards
in the IT industry and provide a guarantee to businesses of the
professionalism and experience of IT staff”. The scheme enables
professionals at IBM who are already working towards gaining IBM
IT Architect, IT Specialist and Consultant status, to fast track
to the globally recognised status of Chartered Engineer. The Institution
of Engineering and Technology was formed by a merger of the Institution
of Electrical Engineers (IEE) and the Institution of Incorporated
Engineers (IIE) and now has more than 150,000 members worldwide.
Nov 2006
INFOBASIS
AND BROADSKILL TO PARTNER
 InfoBasis
and training services supplier BroadSkill have signed a partnership
agreement. BroadSkill has the UK's largest group of freelance trainers,
while InfoBasis provides capability management software used by
organisations such as Microsoft, Norwich Union and the NHS. They
say that clients will now have the additional benefit of securing
the combined expertise of the two industry-leading organisations
to optimise training and capability throughout their business. Nov
2006
MERGER
OF REDTRAY AND BOURNE TRAINING
RedTray has merged with Bourne Training, a leading provider of on-line
and e-learning programmes. Based in Romsey, Hampshire, Bourne’s
team of instructional designers, software developers and graphic
designers provides training services across a range of sectors including
financial services, adult education, telecommunications and the
NHS. The company says Bourne Training will continue to trade independently
under the Bourne brand for the foreseeable future. Nov
2006
PPI
LEARNING PARTNERS WITH EXCHANGE GROUP
 PPI
Learning has formed a partnership with Exchange Group to provide
training for IT professionals on Exchange Group’s programmes.
Under Roy Sunley, Head of Corporate Training, Exchange Group's IT
Pro division has brought together a range of partner organisations
that also includes Microsoft and SkillSoft, and offers a national
network of training centres and access to government funding. Exchange
Group currently trains 30,000 people a year. Nov
2006
MICROSOFT
OPERATIONS MANAGER COURSES FROM QA-IQ
QA-IQ has launched a comprehensive range of own-brand Microsoft
Operations Manager (MOM) courses to help IT professionals master
this new technology. Written by QA-IQ’s own instructors, the
courses are available in over twenty training centres across the
UK and are aimed at IT professionals who have recently implemented
or are considering implementing Microsoft Operations Manager 2005
within their organisations. Nov 2006
GLOBAL
KNOWLEDGE LAUNCHES VISTA TRAINING COURSES
Global Knowledge has developed two new Microsoft Windows Vista training
courses based on Microsoft's pre-release version of Windows Vista
Release Candidate 1. The courses – Migrating to Windows Vista
and Implementing and Maintaining Microsoft Windows Vista –
are five-day, intensive, hands-on courses held at Global Knowledge's
UK training centres in London, Wokingham, Coventry and Wakefield
as well as across Europe. Nov 2006
FREE
PODCASTS FROM BOOKS24x7
 Books24x7
- a subsidiary of SkillSoft – is launching a free podcast
series featuring the views and insights of leading publishers on
business issues and publishing trends. This development follows
the July launch of Books24x7’s first free podcast series,
which featured excerpts from ExecBlueprints, a 450-strong library
of strategic insights, trends and initiatives, authored by prominent
business leaders. Both podcast series are available for free subscription
via the Books24x7 website or through the Apple iTunes Music Store.
Books24x7 has also partnered with the publishing arm of the Chartered
Institute of Management Accountants to offer a range of financial
titles to UK accountants via its FinancePro service. Nov
2006
INFOBASIS
ADDS MICROSOFT SKILL FRAMEWORKS
InfoBasis, the capability management expert, has added a suite of
Microsoft skill frameworks to its extensive library of industry
standard skills definitions. Developed entirely by Microsoft, the
skills within the framework are mapped to Microsoft's catalogue
of learning solutions which allows for easy identification of individual
and organisational learning solutions. The Microsoft frameworks
offer customers a straightforward structure, and cover a breadth
of technology areas including servers, developer tools, and desktop
applications. Nov 2006
DATAMONITOR
TO BUY OVUM
 Datamonitor
and Ovum have agreed the terms of a recommended cash offer for Datamonitor
to buy Ovum, in a deal that values Ovum at £41.8m. Datamonitor
is a business information company specialising in research and analysis
services for healthcare, technology, financial services, consumer
markets, energy and automotive. Ovum (including the former business
of Ovum Holway) is a leading provider of research, market analysis
and advisory services in the ICT sector. Both companies are UK-based
with global coverage. Nov 2006
GLOBAL
KNOWLEDGE LAUNCHES MICROSOFT TRAINING IN SPAIN
Global Knowledge is to offer Microsoft authorised training in Spain.
Global Knowledge is the largest Microsoft Certified Partner for
Learning Solutions (CPLS) in Europe and already offers Microsoft
accredited training in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Ireland,
The Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and the UK. Global Knowledge Spain
will offer an initial public schedule of over 40 courses, including
courses on the latest product releases from Microsoft - Vista and
Windows Mobile. Nov 2006
eLEARNING
AFRICA 2007 - CALL FOR PROPOSALS
 The
2nd eLearning Africa conference which will take place from May 28-30
in Nairobi, Kenya, has opened its call for proposals. The event
aims to establish a network of decision makers from governments
and administrations with universities, schools, governmental and
private training providers, industry, and partners in development.
A detailed list of themes can be found online
where proposals (up to 500 words) can be submitted. Nov
2006
BARCLAYS
CHOOSES RAPID AUTHORING FROM ATLANTIC LINK
Barclays has selected Atlantic Link’s Content Point Rapid
Authoring e-learning tool, following an intensive three month evaluation
of collaborative e-learning tools from Atlantic Link and major US
vendors. Atlantic Link says the courses produced by Content Point
were preferred by 80% of the end users, the design of the courses
was rated as 'good' or 'excellent' by 75% of end users. It adds
that “the fact that the Atlantic Link courses didn't look
like a rolling PowerPoint presentation was also preferred by the
course developers”. Nov 2006
COURSE-SOURCE
WINS 2006 NATIONAL TRAINING AWARD
 e-Learning
service provider Course-Source has won a 2006 National Training
Award in recognition of its achievements in training medics in an
alternative method of blood transfusion. Working in partnership
with Virtual Pedagogue Ltd, Course-Source provided online training
to medics working in hospitals in Derby, Leicester, Sheffield and
Nottingham. The course was so successful that the NHS is now rolling
it out nationwide, potentially saving it millions of pounds each
year. Nov 2006
TOPCLASS
POWERS MOSCOW DISTANCE LEARNING PROGRAM
WBT Systems, provider of enterprise e-learning solutions, has announced
that The Moscow School of Social and Economic Sciences is powering
its distance learning program using WBT’s award winning TopClass
e-Learning Suite. The School’s distance learning program has
been validated by its partner institution, The University of Manchester.
TopClass was selected for its flexible and modular-style architecture
and for its mobile capability and collaborative functionality. Key
to the success of the program are the built-in collaborative tools,
which are used extensively for moderated discussion groups, and
the webmail capability which allows direct one-to-one interactions.
In addition, the system has been fully translated into Russian.
Nov 2006
INFORMATION
TRANSFER DELIVERS NHS FINANCE E-LEARNING
The Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA) has partnered
with Information Transfer to launch a new e-learning service aimed
at NHS professionals and staff throughout the UK. The finance courses
were developed by Information Transfer, and are delivered using
Information Transfer's Knowledge Centre learning management software.
Nov 2006
LSC
LAUNCHES PROGRESS REPORT
The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) has launched Delivering Learning and Skills – a
progress report. It provides a full picture of what the learning and skills sector
has achieved over the past 12 months, what the LSC has spent its money on and
how the achievements of the LSC and its partners are having a significant impact
across a broad range of political, economic and social policy agendas. The report
shows more people are completing courses and achieving qualifications, and says
success rates have risen by 2.6% to 73.8% in further education and work based
learning. Nov 2006
EUROPEAN
INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY GETS CLOSER
In July we reported on European Commission plans to set up a European
Institute of Technology (EIT). The Commission has now put forward
a proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the
Council establishing the EIT. The Commission is proposing an integrated,
two-level structure: one level will be a governance structure based
on a Governing Board (GB), which will set the overall strategic
priorities of the EIT and will also take charge of selection, evaluation
and coordination of the Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs):
the other level will be the KICs themselves, which are joint-ventures
of partner organisations representing universities, research organisations
and businesses. The proposed Regulation on the EIT will be discussed
in the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers. The target
is adoption by the end of 2007 or early 2008. The EIT would become
operational in 2008, with the first two KICs in place by 2010-2011. Nov
2006
FIRST
UNIQUE LEARNER NUMBER ISSUED
A student from Lewisham College, London, has become the first holder
of a Unique Learner Number (ULN) issued as part of the trials instigated
by the Managing Information Across Partners (MIAP) programme. The
introduction of a Unique Learner Number for every person in education
and training and the creation of a central Learner Registration
Service (LRS) are keys to the success of the MIAP programme. The
aim is that the lessons learned from these trials will ensure the
main service works when it goes live next September. Nov
2006
UK
TEACHERS LEAD EUROPE IN TECH USE
The UK's teachers are the most internet-savvy in Europe, according
to a report from the European Commission. In UK schools, 96% of
teachers have used computers as teaching tools in the last year
and 21% have been using PCs in half of their lessons. The report
also found that 73% of UK schools have a website, 65% have a LAN,
63% an intranet and more than 80% have an external IT maintenance
contract. 75% of schools having broadband connectivity - making
it 13th out of 27 countries examined by the EC. But rural schools
are less likely to get the best technology compared to their urban
counterparts: 81% of schools in highly populated places have broadband,
compared to 69% in less densely populated areas. (Reported
by silicon.com) Nov 2006
HOW
UK WILL SPEND EU STRUCTURAL FUNDS
The Government has announced how €9.6 billion of European
Structural Funds will be distributed across the UK over the next
seven years. Every region of the UK will be given a share of European
money, based on a formula worked out after a detailed consultation
earlier this year. The sum of €9.6 billion covers the period
2007-2013, and is substantially lower than the €15.85 billion
the UK received for the current seven-year period. The Government
has also published a response to the consultation including a summary
of stakeholders' views. The Structural Funds are intended to play
a major role in supporting regional development and employment
across the EU. The new National Strategy establishes three broad
priorities for future Structural Funds spending: Enterprise and
Innovation, Skills and Employment, and Environmental and Community
Sustainability. Nov 2006
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