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 BCS
TAKES OVER IT TRAINING MAGAZINE
 IT
Training magazine will now be published by the British Computer
Society (BCS), which has taken over the publishing licence from
Haymarket Media. It will appear quarterly, with the first BCS-produced
IT Training out in May, and will be sent to the magazine’s
13,000 existing readers. The new in-house editor is former IT journalist
Helen Boddy, who says the deal “acknowledges the importance
of the role of IT training in the IT profession”. The BCS
has recently launched an Information and Technology Training Specialist
Group, and also plans to announce a new complementary IT Training
e-newsletter for information technology trainers. Apr
2007
INSTITUTE
CLAMPS DOWN ON GOOGLE SEARCH ABUSE
The Institute of IT Training has warned its Accredited Training
Providers to cease the malpractice of using Google Adwords in order
to direct Internet searches from competitor sites to their own.
The Institute has received complaints that some training providers
are using competitors' names in their Google Adwords listings to
divert searches to their sites from their competitors. IITT Chief
Executive Colin Steed explained: "We have undertaken thorough
investigations and it appears that this malpractice is going on.
This is unethical practice and we have warned all of our accredited
training providers that if they are practising this method of gaining
business from their competitors, it must stop or we shall withdraw
their accredited status immediately”. Apr
2007
CISCO
TO PAY $3.2 BILLION FOR WEBEX
 Cisco
is to acquire WebEx, a market leader in on-demand collaboration
applications including the delivery of online training. Cisco says
WebEx's technology and services portfolio "complement Cisco's
leadership in the unified communications and collaboration market,
while providing Cisco with a new and unique business model to expand
its presence in the fast-growing SMB market". Cisco will pay
an aggregate price of around $3.2 billion. WebEx was founded in
1995 and held its IPO in July 2000. The company has about 2,200
employees and 2.2 million registered users. Its revenues in 2006
were $380 million. Apr 2007
REGISTRATION
OPENS FOR ITQ CONFERENCE
Registration is now open for the 2007
National ITQ Conference to be held in Birmingham on 24 April.
Organiser e-skills UK says the conference will provide an excellent
opportunity for training providers and those agencies supporting
and developing new approaches to ITQ delivery to share their expertise
and experience. Representatives from awarding bodies and e-skills
UK will be available for surgery support throughout the day and
a sponsors' exhibition will provide delegates with practical advice
on ITQ implementation. Apr 2007
COMPTIA
CONVERGENCE+ ARRIVES
 CompTIA’s
new Convergence+ certification is now available. Convergence+ validates
an IT professional's knowledge and skill in the area of communications
technologies where data, voice, video, and broadcast multimedia
technologies are combined in a single IP-based delivery system.
The vendor-neutral certification recognises a technician's ability
to design, implement and manage both data and voice networking;
and covers areas such as telephony, network engineering, applications,
hardware, architecture, management, and security. The exam is intended
for individuals with 18-24 months of experience in data networking,
voice-over-IP and other related convergence technologies. Student
and instructor study guides for Convergence+ are available from
CompTIA Press. Apr 2007
QA-IQ
EXPANDS TRAINER DEVELOPMENT ACADEMY
QA-IQ is expanding its trainer development programme with the launch
of an intensive Academy for technical and business professionals
who wish to join the training industry. The company says feedback
from customers has confirmed the value of instructors who have real-world
experience to back up their technical knowledge, and can provide
learners with up-to-date examples of skills application in a business
context – so it is expanding its trainer development programme
to provide a structure for those who excel in their field to pass
their skills on to others. QA-IQ already has an IITT-certified development
programme, and is now adding a fast-track conversion course for
those joining it from business or technical roles. Apr
2007
GLOBAL
KNOWLEDGE INTRODUCES NEW VMWARE COURSES
 Global
Knowledge will soon be running the new VMware Virtual Infrastructure
3: Deploying, Securing and Analysing course and the Virtual Infrastructure
for Operators course from its training locations throughout the
UK. Global Knowledge is working in association with Magirus, one
of Europe's leading IT infrastructure and solutions providers, to
provide these new authorised VMware courses to its customers. Apr
2007
XPERTISE
EXPANDS MICROSOFT DYNAMICS TRAINING
Xpertise is expanding its Microsoft Dynamics training portfolio
via a partnership with Danish training company Microworld. Microsoft
Dynamics is a suite of application software solutions from Microsoft.
Training on these products is highly specialised and is offered
by few companies. Xpertise has been providing training on Microsoft
Dynamics CRM for some time and is now partnering with Microworld,
an acknowledged leader in Microsoft Dynamics training, to add Microsoft
Dynamics AX and Microsoft Dynamics NAV courses to its portfolio.
The courses will be available as closed, company-specific training
programmes, and also through a limited public schedule of courses.
Apr 2007
SKILLS
FOR IT MANAGEMENT – CONFERENCE
The British Computer Society and the UK Academy for Information
Systems are holding two one-day conferences to highlight the future
skills and competences needed by IT leaders. Leading the IT Function:
The New Professional Agenda will take place in Manchester on 10
April and in London on 17 May. The BCS says that as technology manager,
the IT manager is primarily a supplier of IT and needs a mix of
technical and management skills: in contrast, as business change
agent, the IT manager requires persuasive business and interpersonal
skills. Themes of the conference will be the future technology landscape
and its impact; business/IT alignment; leading IT through people;
and compliance. Apr 2007
25,000
RED HAT CERTIFICATIONS
 Red
Hat has reached an important milestone – it has awarded more
than 25,000 Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE) certifications. It
began conducting the performance-based testing programme in 1999.
Red Hat claims to be the world's largest vendor of Linux training
and certification by revenue, sales, courses available and locations
served, and RHCE was named the Hottest Certification for 2006 by
CertCities.com. Apr 2007
PEOPLE
ON THE MOVE
Rob Tillier has moved on from IITT to become Operations Director
at Just IT Training. And Epic’s Managing Director Matt Gokhool
is leaving to work for the Government of Mauritius; he was previously
Chief Executive of the Outer Territories of Mauritius. Apr
2007
VMWARE
TRAINING FROM QA-IQ
QA-IQ is now offering customers access to authorised courses from
VMware, a global leader in software for industry-standard virtualised
desktops and servers. Courses include 'Install and Configure' which
also prepares IT professionals for VMware certification, 'Operations',
focused on the skills required by those who use VMware to manage
other server environments, and 'Deploy, Secure and Analyze' for
systems integrators, deployment professionals and VMware consultants.
Apr 2007
NOVELL
JOINS OPENCOURSEWARE CONSORTIUM
 Novell
has joined the OpenCourseWare Consortium, a global initiative of
higher education institutions designed to create open educational
content using a shared model. Novell is among the first commercial
enterprises to participate in the OpenCourseWare Consortium, joining
the likes of MIT, Harvard Law School, and a number of other leading
universities around the world. Novell will contribute an initial
10 training courses under the terms of its membership in the Consortium
to its opencourseware
library. Novell has also launched its first certification focused
on the Linux desktop, the Novell Certified Linux Desktop Administrator
10 program, which will validate the skills of administrators managing
Novell's SUSE Linux Enterprise desktop. Apr 2007
55%
OF EMPLOYERS CAN'T FIND SKILLED WORKERS
A new report from the British Chambers of Commerce says British
businesses face increasing difficulties in finding employees with
the right skills. 55% of employers said that they find it more difficult
to recruit skilled employees today than five years ago. The BCC
says its findings strengthen the need for the Government to place
business needs at the heart of plans to revise vocational training
for young people and adults. It reports that 83% of small businesses
claim to provide training for their staff and 77% make professional
assessments of staff training needs and evaluate the effectiveness
of the training they pay for. The report also says only a sixth
of employers feel their Sector Skills Council effectively represents
their needs. Apr 2007
BLA
BECOMES BILD
 The
British Learning Association has re-branded itself and become the
British Institute for Learning and Development. The organisation
says it will “address the needs and raise the status of all
those involved in learning and development (both organisations and
individuals)” and will “provide coherence to a sector
that embraces corporate, work based and lifelong learning and vocational
training”. It is organising a conference on Creating Successful
Work Based Learning in London on 16 May. Apr
2007
GROWING
CONCERN ABOUT CANCELLATION POLICIES
Peter Mayes, founder and editor of TrainerBase, says some training
companies are demanding changes in the contracts of freelance trainers
to reduce cancellation times and rates. “In the balance between
contract flexibility and the cash strapped training departments”,
says Mayes, “the independent training provider is pulling
the short straw”. He says he has come across clients insisting
on a 3-day cancellation policy. "This I personally think is
an outrageously short period and gives no consideration to the viability
of an independent trainer's business model". Apr
2007
EXPERIENCE
MATTERS MOST FOR IT MANAGERS
A BCS working group has carried out a survey to determine the relative
importance employers place on the qualifications, education and
experience of their IT managers.
Almost 90% of organisations said it was the experience of their
IT managers that was important to them, compared with 41% who said
their IT qualifications were important. When recruiting IT managers,
69% of companies put a high importance on the IT knowledge of the
applicant compared with 51% who rated management knowledge highly.
Responding to the survey results, BCS chief executive David Clarke
said: "It is vital for British organisations to better gauge
IT management skills using exacting qualification benchmarks. Broad
experience is no longer as relevant as it was. Qualification bodies
like BCS are now offering highly exacting methods to measure and
fit individuals to specific IT management roles, which is vital
for a prospering business or organisation". Apr
2007
INFOBASIS
ANNOUNCES SUPPORT FOR PSG
 InfoBasis
has announced support for the UK's Professional Skills for Government
(PSG) initiative. The company has configured its skills management
platform – InfoBasis Enterprise Skills Manager – to
be capable of providing assessment against the many competency frameworks
used in the programme. PSG is a core part of the Government's Delivery
and Reform agenda. It aims to ensure that civil servants have the
skills and expertise to do their job well. It is also used to guide
staff development and career decisions. By September 2007, 95% of
Senior Civil Servants are expected to have a development plan in
place, and at least 75% are expected to demonstrate competence in
all core areas. Apr 2007
XPERTISE
ROLLS OUT TRAINING TO 25 COUNTRIES
Xpertise has delivered an EMEA-wide Microsoft Visual Studio Team
System training programme to over 300 people in twenty five countries.
Xpertise says that having worked with Microsoft to develop a course
and deliver other Visual Studio Team System training programmes
in the UK, it seized the opportunity to expand its delivery reach
into EMEA, and that its four-day technical workshop for developers
and consultants achieved trainer satisfaction scores of 8 out of
9 on the Metrics That Matter learning analytics system. Apr
2007
GTSLEARNING
OFFERS NETWORKING PRIMER FOR VoIP
 gtslearning
has launched an intensive online course that provides an introduction
to VoIP and networking technology for telecoms professionals and
experienced IT users. The new 'Networking Primer for VoIP' course
is delivered via the Internet. Its target audience includes telecoms
channel reseller support staff and engineers wishing to acquire
networking and VoIP skills. The course will provide them with essential
foundation knowledge required for more advanced exam preparation
such as CompTIA's Convergence+ or vendor-specific convergence training.
It is also aimed at experienced computer users and IT professionals
wishing to gain a thorough understanding of LAN/WAN/VoIP technology.
Apr 2007
THIRDFORCE
FUELS E-LEARNING FOR BP
ThirdForce plc has won a contract to deliver food safety, literacy
and numeracy training in an innovative e-learning solution for BP.
The El-Box provides compliance training and workforce development
direct to BP Retail's forecourt staff. This is a portable, touch-screen
PC-tablet pre-loaded with dedicated e-learning training. ThirdForce
will also provide its AIMS Perform enterprise-wide training management
system allowing BP Retail UK to manage, schedule, administer and
report on all training of its staff. BP Retail operates over 270
company owned sites across the UK with a further 1,200 dealer sites.
It employs around 4000 people.
KAPLAN
RELEASES STT TRAINER 4.4
 Kaplan
IT Learning, which provides certification preparation, assessment,
learning services and software to help individuals and organisations
train on technology and prepare for technology certifications, has
launched the latest version of its simulation-based training and
documentation authoring tool, STT Trainer. This tool trains end-users
of enterprise systems such as SAP or Oracle, as well as custom applications.
STT Trainer's newest features include .NET technology, a capture
tool to "edit on the fly", faster web-based performance
and easier database and repository maintenance. Apr
2007
GIUNTI
LABS PROVIDES LCMS TECHNOLOGY IN PROLIX
Giunti Labs, the e-learning and LCMS vendor, is taking part in PROLIX,
a four-year research and development project co-funded by the European
Commission. The project brings together 19 partners from nine countries
and provides LMS, LCMS and business intelligence tools aimed at
aligning learning with business processes, by bridging e-learning
and business intelligence tools using shared standards and interfaces.
The goal is a minimum 20% reduction in the 'time to competency'
in the workforces of the organisations which are engaged in the
project. Apr 2007
TWO
NEW POLICY PAPERS
The National Skills Forum has published two new research papers sponsored by
City & Guilds: Adult Training: Focus and Funding in the Context of Changing
UK Demographics, and Incentives to Train: Ensuring Employer Engagement. The research
takes forward two of the key policy recommendations identified in the National
Skills Forum’s first piece of research, published in October 2005. Each
paper provides an overview of current policy initiatives, major policy debates,
key interview findings and policy recommendations. Key recommendations include:
clearer responsibility for adult training; better integrated skills policies;
qualification reform for vocational education; review of adult apprenticeships
and provision for older learners; mechanisms to facilitate SME engagement in
training; statutory requirements for licences to practise in certain sectors;
voluntary training levies; tax incentives for training; and an extension and
expansion of leadership and management training to all levels. Apr
2007
THE
LISBON COUNCIL: SKILLS FOR THE FUTURE
The EC’s Lisbon Council, together with Accenture, has published
a report on its ‘Jobs of the Future’ study, which examined
how to bring government, business and individuals together “to
develop the skills and human capital Europe needs to excel in a
fast-moving global economy”. It says Europe has an exceptional
opportunity to capitalise on the transition to a knowledge economy
and create significant employment opportunities for its citizens,
but that this will depend on reforming the systems and processes
through which skills development and education is undertaken.
Among key implications, it says individuals will now have to take
on a higher level of personal responsibility for their own training
and education than ever before. Their skills profile is likely
to entail more interaction with information and technology, increased
demand for skills that complement ICT, and a high premium attached
to the ability to learn new skills. But it warns that there is
already evidence to suggest that Europe is failing to keep up with
the demand for skills driven by the knowledge economy. For example,
it is estimated that the actual number of people needed to fill
the advanced network technology skills gap in Europe was around
160,000 in 2005 and will rise to 500,000 in 2008. This represents
skills gaps as a percentage of total demand of 8.1% in 2005 rising
to 15.8% in 2008. Apr 2007
BBC
SUSPENDS EDUCATION WEBSITE
The BBC has suspended its £150m education website, BBC Jam,
following complaints to the European Commission that it is damaging
the interests of the commercial sector. The BBC Trust says it has
requested BBC management to prepare fresh proposals for how the
BBC should deliver its Charter obligation to promote formal education
and learning. Once completed, the Trust will subject BBC management's
proposals to a full Public Value Test, including a market impact
assessment by Ofcom. The first elements of BBC Jam were launched
in January 2006. Little more than 10% of the content of the whole
service has been made available, while the remainder was due for
roll-out up to September 2008, building up to a portfolio of 136
subject areas. The service has a total budget of £150m, with
50% of the total content budget – some £45m – intended
to be commissioned from independent production companies in the
private sector. Apr 2007
MORE
ACHIEVE LEVEL 2 QUALIFICATIONS
More young people across England gained level 2 qualifications
in 2006 (five GCSEs grades A*-C or the vocational equivalent),
according to new government figures. The increase means that the
equivalent of over 40,000 more 19 year olds have achieved better
prospects for good careers, compared to those who turned 19 in
2004. By achieving the key level 2 qualification, young people
can look forward to a higher starting salary – of £1,700
more a year, compared to those without five good GCSEs or the vocational
equivalent – and an 88% higher chance of skilled employment.
An increasing proportion of 19 year olds (4.7% more since 2004)
have also qualified to Level 3 (equivalent to 2 A-levels), also
in line with Government targets. Apr 2007
NATIONAL
LEARNING AT WORK DAY
This year’s National Learning at Work Day will be on Thursday
24 May. Its co-ordinator, the Campaign for Learning, is encouraging
organisations to use the day to focus on identifying, developing
and reviewing employee skills to achieve both business benefits
and individual career success. Thousands of organisations take
part in the Day, now in its eighth year, to support the creation
of a skilled, qualified and motivated workforce. To register for
free planning materials including posters, graphics, online planning
guides and a printed planner with key dates and learning ideas,
visit www.learningatworkday.com. Apr
2007
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