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 QA-IQ
IS NEW SUN DELIVERY PARTNER
 QA-IQ
has been awarded Sun Authorised Training Partner status and is to offer
an extensive range of Sun Microsystems training, following the agreement
of a new learning collaboration between the two companies in the UK.
QA-IQ’s authorised portfolio includes a broad range of Solaris
and Java courses, leading to Sun’s industry accreditations. In
addition, QA-IQ’s own brand Java and Unix ‘Performance’ courses
will complement the authorised Sun curriculum. Chief Learning Officer
at Sun, Nick Beard, comments: “Sun's reputation for delivering
innovative solutions, and high quality support to Sun's customers,
is well underpinned by this new partnership with QA-IQ. QA-IQ’s
core business is learning and we are confident that their experience,
expertise and focus will make a significant contribution to the learning
solutions provided to our customers”. Nov
2007
LEARNING
TECHNOLOGIES 2008
 The
Learning Technologies exhibition and conference, now in its ninth
year, returns on Wednesday 30 and Thursday 31 January 2008 at London
Olympia. The exhibition is expected to draw over 3,000 visitors and
120 exhibitors, and there will be more than 40 free seminars and
events. Alongside the two-day exhibition is the Learning Technologies
2008 Conference on the theme of 'Driving workforce performance through
learning and development'. For the latest exhibition and conference
news, visit the website.
IT Skills Research will again be collaborating with Learning Technologies
to conduct its annual Survey of Learning & Development Buyers. Nov
2007
ETS
COMPLETES PROMETRIC ACQUISITION
ETS has completed its acquisition of Prometric and its global network
of testing centres in 135 countries from The Thomson Corporation
for $435 million, subject to post-closing adjustments. Prometric,
which had revenues of $317 million in 2006, will operate as a wholly-owned
subsidiary of ETS. Prometric carries out testing for 450 clients;
those in the technology market include Microsoft Learning, IBM,
Oracle and Sun Microsystems. Nov 2007
SAP
TO ACQUIRE BUSINESS OBJECTS
 SAP
is to acquire French business intelligence software maker Business
Objects in a 4.8 billion euro deal. The transaction is expected to
close in the first quarter of 2008. SAP says Business Objects will
operate as a stand-alone business within the SAP Group, and John
Schwarz will continue as its CEO. SAP UK's Education business is
ranked third in the 2007 Top 50 IT Training Companies, and Business
Objects also has a substantial training operation. Nov
2007
AT&T
BUYS INTERWISE
AT&T has agreed to acquire Interwise, a global provider of
voice, web and video conferencing services. AT&T will pay,
via one of its subsidiaries, approximately $121 million in cash
for the privately owned company. It says the acquisition will bolster
its position in conferencing and collaboration services. Research
firm Frost & Sullivan estimates that the total conferencing
market is worth $5.9 billion worldwide in 2007, and predicts further
significant growth in the future. Nov 2007
XPERTISE
TO BREAK £20M MARK
 Brokers
Daniel Stewart & Co estimate that 2007 full year revenue at Xpertise
will be £21.5 million, compared to £16.0 million in 2006.
Xpertise published impressive results for the first half of the year
(see Company Results) with improved profits and 30% revenue
growth, achieved through the rapid expansion of its managed training
services business as well as ongoing growth in its core delivery
areas. Nov 2007
HELP
TO SET STANDARDS FOR IT SKILLS
The National Occupational Standards for IT – the industry-wide
'language' for technology skills which aims to ensure that everyone
involved with IT is trained, assessed and developed against consistent
measures – are being updated, and employers are being offered
an opportunity to help ensure they meet business needs and attract
government funding for IT. e-skills UK is responsible for these
standards, and is holding a series of regional events to listen
to views and opinions. There will be two half-day meetings at each
event, one focused on the needs of IT professionals and the other
on those of IT users. For more details, see Government pages. Nov
2007
GLOBAL
KNOWLEDGE SHOWCASES EMEA CAPABILITY AT TECH ED
 Global
Knowledge will be showcasing its ability to deliver consistently
high quality learning experiences in Microsoft technologies across
the entire Europe, Middle East and Africa region at the forthcoming
Tech Ed IT Forum event in Barcelona on 12-16 November. Following
its recent acquisition of Synergy Professional Services, a leading
CPLS in the Middle East and Africa region, Global Knowledge says
it will use Tech Ed to highlight its capability and to emphasise
the growing importance of skills development in Microsoft technologies
both to Microsoft Partners and to end user organisations. Nov
2007
REDTRAY
IN TECH TRACK 100...
 RedTray
has been listed in 23rd position in the 2007 Sunday Times Microsoft
Tech Track 100, following its 5th place ranking in 2006. RedTray’s
sales grew from £759,000 in 2004 to £5.3m in 2006. The
annual Tech Track 100 league table ranks Britain's one hundred fastest-growing
private technology companies by their sales growth over a two-year
period. Nov 2007
...
AND ACADEMY INTERNET IN FAST 50
 Academy
Internet has been ranked 34th Fastest Growing Technology Company
in the UK in the 2007 Deloitte Technology Fast 50. Rankings are based
on average percentage revenue growth over five years. The Academy
Internet team has grown from 2 to 25 staff with turnover increasing
at rates of between 36% and 88% since 2002. The company says it is
building a digital super agency in Brighton and is currently in advanced
negotiations to secure a blend of equity and debt funding, both to
consolidate its position and to enable a series of pre-identified
mergers and acquisitions in the local digital media community to
take place. Nov 2007
ATLANTIC
LINK IS DOUBLE AWARD WINNER IN SHOOTOUTS
 At
the Brandon Hall Innovations in Learning Conference in California,
Atlantic Link's rapid e-learning software won two awards in the E-learning
Shootouts – a Gold Award in the 'PowerPoint to E-learning’ Shootout
and a Silver in 'Building Software Simulations'. Nov
2007
CONTENT
MASTER RECEIVES MICROSOFT AWARD
Content Master, the technical content development division of UK-based
CM Group Ltd, has received the coveted Microsoft "Premier
Vendor" award in the US. The company produces training materials
for Microsoft Learning and for individual Microsoft Product Groups.
Recent Microsoft releases developed by Content Master include a
series of e-learning courses and clinics on the new version of
Windows Server (code named 'Longhorn'), and two new 5-day instructor
led training courses for .NET developers. Nov
2007
XPERTISE’S
WALKER JOINS MICROSOFT ADVISORY COUNCIL
Bill Walker, board director at Xpertise, is to join Microsoft's
Learning Partner Advisory Council. The Advisory Council provides
feedback from partners on the company's strategy for its learning
products and services. 12 partner representatives sit on the Council
and they meet regularly in the US to work closely with Microsoft.
Walker will represent the UK for the next three years, the standard
term for serving on the panel. Xpertise is a Microsoft Gold Certified
Partner for Learning Solutions, and has been selected three times
as Microsoft's Gold Learning Partner of the Year for EMEA. Nov
2007
MTS:
TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE?
Learning Tree’s UK managing director Richard Chappell says
organisations should be wary of signing up to managed training
service deals: they look – and indeed probably are – too
good to be true. Writing in Training magazine, Chappell
argues that MTSs originated from specialist companies who didn’t
have their own training arms and were paid to secure and fully
manage the most appropriate training for a client at the best price.
But in recent years, he says, large training delivery organisations
have identified this approach as an excellent commercial opportunity,
and see it as a method of ring-fencing a client's account. He concludes
that an organisation may offer to manage huge and often complex
training programmes and third-party suppliers for free, but any
organisation subscribing to such a service “would be well
advised to consider exactly how much this seemingly free service
may eventually cost”. (Reported by Personnel Today) Nov
2007
...
AND SO ARE RECRUITMENT INTERMEDIARIES?
Plan-Net’s Richard Forkan, writing in the eBCS newsletter,
says there is no skills shortage – just poor recruitment
practices. He asserts that while there are shortages in some specific
highly technical areas, the majority of the industry is well served
with sufficient numbers of high quality personnel – but “failure
to secure these people for key roles is due mainly to the widespread
adoption of nonsensical, multi-tier recruitment processes that
prize speed of CV delivery over true assessment of candidate quality
and agency margin over total recruitment costs and value”.
Forkan suggests that the primary reason a situation like this has
been allowed to develop is the IT industry’s predilection
towards blaming a 'skills shortage' for any fluctuation in the
market. Nov 2007
CIPD
APPOINTS JACKIE ORME AS NEW CHIEF EXECUTIVE
 The
Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development has announced the
appointment of Jackie Orme as its Chief Executive to succeed Geoff
Armstrong, who is retiring in June 2008. She joins from PepsiCo International,
where she is Chief Personnel Officer and Vice-President, HR. [The
CIPD was formed in 1994 when the Institute of Training & Development
(ITD) merged with the Institute of Personnel Management (IPM). In
recent times some influential figures in the training industry have
called for the establishment of a new professional body for the learning
and training industry, believing that this aspect of the CIPD’s
role is sadly neglected.] Nov 2007
NEW
DIPLOMA IN DIGITAL PUBLISHING
The Periodical Publishers Association (PPA) and internet marketing
specialist E-consultancy have formed a partnership to launch the
UK's first Diploma in Digital Publishing, which has been developed “to
help publishers acquire new digital skills and create multi-channel
strategies as media consumption habits change and digital and communications
technologies evolve”. The Association of Online Publishers'
census says turnover from members' online operations rose from £344m
in 2004 to £575m in 2006. The PPA says that with a further
72% increase predicted for 2007, digital channels are no longer
an afterthought for successful publishing companies. The Diploma
will cost £6,000 with intakes planned four times a year. Nov
2007
NEW
PRODUCT AND CONTRACT WIN FOR INTELLEGO
 Intellego
has entered into a pan-European reseller partnership with Halogen
Software, an award-winning HR software company. The Halogen Performance & Talent
Management suite automates workforce performance management processes
such as employee appraisals, assessments, development plans, merit-based
compensation adjustments and reporting. It can stand alone or be
integrated with an existing LMS. Intellego has already made its first
sale of the Halogen product to ‘the Irish subsidiary of a leading
world wine and spirits groups’. Nov 2007
ELEARNING
NETWORK SEEKS NEW CHAIRMAN
 The
eLearning Network, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this
year, is recruiting a new chairman. Phil Green, who has occupied
the post for the past two years, is stepping down. The committee
of the eLN is considering applications for the roles of chairman
and administrator, and interested parties are invited to contact
the eLN at admin@elearningnetwork.org Nov
2007
WE
ARE NOT ALONE
Pessimism about skills shortages is not just part of the British
Disease – it’s vexing our American cousins too. In
a survey conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of Adecco NA,
64% of American adults believe the US education system is not providing
workers with the skills necessary for jobs of the future. More
than nine in 10 (92%) agree strengthening the education system
should be a top priority for the US in the next decade, and 56%
believe America is unprepared to compete in the global economy.
(Reported by Inside Training Newsletter) Nov
2007
FOCUS
ON ITIL TRAINING
Focus on Training, an organisation specialising in best practice
training for IT Service Management and Project Management, says
that after a period of confusion, the fog surrounding the new ITIL
qualification structure is starting to clear. ITIL Version 3 was
launched in May 2007 but the training and qualification framework
has been a little delayed. Focus has published a new fact sheet, ITIL
Qualifications Explained, which addresses
the many questions it has faced over the past few months. It is
available free of charge at www.focus-on-training.co.uk. Nov
2007
ARE
COMPUTER SCIENCE DEGREES RELEVANT?
A survey of IT staff conducted by silicon.com suggests the quality
of computer science graduates is falling. Just a quarter of survey
respondents agree that 'computer science courses turn out high-quality
IT graduates' - a drop of 10 percentage points on 2006's result,
and a further drop on the year before, when 37% believed graduates
were of high calibre. It says there is some tension between what
industry demands - graduates who can be set to work as soon as
they join - and universities which aim to give students the broader
picture, rather than a specific skill set. Nov
2007
TRAINER1
SUPPLIES E-LEARNING INFRASTRUCTURE
e-learning specialist Trainer1 has won a contract to supply The
South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust with its e-learning
infrastructure, which includes authoring tools and a learning management
system. Trainer1’s Neil Lasher says that organisations are
moving much of their standard e-learning development in-house,
to their subject matter experts. This means they are increasingly
looking to professional developers, such as Trainer1, to offer
advice and guidance, facilitation, coaching and mentoring on tools
and techniques. Nov 2007
BEAZLEY
SELECTS KNOWLEDGE SOLUTIONS
Beazley Group, an underwriting and claims service company, has
outsourced the development and tracking of its anti-money laundering
and fraud course to Knowledge Solutions. Beazley will now offer
a tailored learning experience designed around the requirements
of individuals' job roles. Automated quizzes will test that staff
have fully understood the content and can apply it to their roles,
and Knowledge Solutions' learning administrator will enable business
managers to monitor individuals' progress and ensure staff are
compliant with Beazley's policies. Nov 2007
NEW
PM AND ITIL TITLES FROM LEARNING TREE
 Learning
Tree International has expanded its Project Management curriculum
with a new course entitled 'PRINCE2 in Practice: Applying the Method
to Your Projects', using its RealityPlus simulation-based learning
approach. Learning Tree is also introducing two new courses to help
professionals acquire the new ITIL Version 3 Foundation Certification – a
one-day 'ITIL v2-v3 Foundation Certification Bridge' for individuals
who already hold the ITIL v2 Certification, and a 3-day course, 'ITIL
v3: Achieving Foundation Certification'. Nov 2007
BRIGHTWAVE
TO DEVELOP E-LEARNING PLATFORM FOR EDINBURGH
The City of Edinburgh Council has selected Brightwave to design
and develop a new portal-based e-learning platform which will enable
the Council to create e-learning content and distribute online
training courses to its staff. The strategic partnership will see
the provision, implementation, licensing and support for a suite
of tools that will enable e-learning content to be rolled out later
this year. The suite will include an authoring tool, a learning
management system and a 360 degree feedback tool. Nov
2007
NETDIMENSIONS
AND ATLANTIC LINK TO PARTNER
 NetDimensions,
the AIM-listed provider of learning, knowledge and performance management
systems, has established an affiliate agreement with rapid e-learning
tools company Atlantic Link. Under the terms of the agreement, the
companies will offer mutual sales assistance. Atlantic Link will
promote NetDimensions' products to clients who lack a learning management
system or a portal for hosting content, and NetDimensions Enterprise
Knowledge Platform will provide the back-end learning management
services to complement courseware developed with Atlantic Link's
content authoring tools. Nov 2007
BYTES
AND REDTRAY IN £2M AGREEMENT
Software services company Bytes Technology Group has signed a 3-year
agreement with blended learning specialists RedTray. Bytes will
offer a range of additional services to its customers by drawing
on RedTray’s e-learning experience to supplement its existing
training business. (RedTray is ranked 30th in the current Top 50
IT Training Companies, and Bytes is 49th.) Nov
2007
COBENT
EXPANDS ITS TEAM
Cobent, a provider of e-learning, training and compliance-led process
management, has expanded its team with the addition of four senior
appointments. Jordan Ambrose, previously at ILX Group, becomes
Cobent’s sales director; Phil Clare is head of its development
team; Denise Harvey has become project and implementation manager;
and Alistair Morrison has joined Cobent as a non-executive director.
(Morrison is also a non-executive director of Echelon – see below.) Nov
2007
JAMES
THORNTON GROUP NOMINATED AS BCS FINALIST
James Thornton Group has been named as a finalist for the BCS IT
Industry Awards in the Women in IT category, in recognition of
its innovation in the field of training. The James Thornton Women
in IT programme provides a focused and structured programme of
study and work to encourage more women to enter the male dominated
IT industry. Other finalists in the same category include Microsoft
UK, Google, Accenture and Lloyds TSB. Nov 2007
GTR
ANNIVERSARY
Global Training Resources Ltd has celebrated its first anniversary
by announcing that it has been awarded HP Education Reseller and
Microsoft Certified Partner status, and is a Sussex Enterprise
Member. The company was founded by managing director Mark McClelland
following the demise of Star Consulting, where he was Sales Manager.
Via partnerships with leading providers, GTR aims to provide clients
with a one-stop service for the purchase of their training. Nov
2007
TATA
LAUNCHES TRAINING FOR M&A
Tata Interactive Systems has extended the range of its TOPSIM workshops
with a simulation-based seminar solution to help achieve successful
mergers and acquisitions. TIS says last year saw an estimated US$4
trillion of mergers and acquisitions across the globe, but over
65% of transactions fail to deliver the expected returns, primarily
because of such things as inadequate cultural integration, and
the lack of a clear and effective integration process. The new
workshops will guide participants through a series of post-merger
scenarios, posing challenges in the areas of integration planning,
expectation setting, organisational culture and communication. Nov
2007
ACADEMY
INTERNET AND CCH ON NEW COMPANIES ACT
Academy Internet has teamed up with CCH, a leading tax, accounting
and legal publisher, to produce a series of e-learning modules
that distil recent legislation changes into an hour’s learning.
The Companies Act 2006 weighs in at 1300 sections, and would take
a company director around three full working days to read. Accessible
via a dedicated website, ‘Companies Act Now’ provides
a free initial tutorial introducing some of the issues, and then
offers the opportunity to buy a short e-learning course covering
key requirements for directors. An additional e-learning course
will be launched in April 2008 to address further issues which
will take effect then. Nov
2007
NATIONAL
OCCUPATIONAL STANDARDS CONSULTATION
The National Occupational Standards for IT – which aim to ensure that everyone
involved with IT is trained, assessed and developed against consistent measures – are
being updated, and employers are offered an opportunity to help ensure they meet
business needs and attract government funding for IT. e-skills UK is responsible
for these standards, and is holding a series of regional
events for employers to listen to their views and opinions. Events are scheduled
as follows:
1st November: Glasgow
13th November: London
14th November: Belfast
15th November: Sheffield
20th November: Cardiff
22nd November (provisional): Midlands
29th November: Warrington.
There will be two half-day meetings at each event, one focused
on the needs of IT professionals and the other on those of IT users.
- e-skills UK has created a common language and framework for
defining IT professional skills, knowledge and experience. Entitled
'PROCOM', the framework aims to unite and build on existing skills
and development programmes such as the Skills Framework for the
Information Age (SFIA), the National Occupational Standards and
BCS’s Chartered Professional programme, to establish a
consistent approach to expressing IT professional capabilities.
The consultation exercise is to ensure the national framework
and related standards reflect employers' needs.
- Similarly the e-skills UK framework for IT user skills is to
ensure that everyone using IT is trained, assessed and developed
against a nationally and industry recognised measure. The framework
and related standards will underpin the development of all qualifications
and learning materials focused on using technology. Again, the
review aims to ensure that the framework and standards reflect
employers' needs. Nov 2007
VOUCHERS
FOR TRAINING COURSES
The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) and
the LSC have launched a scheme that enables people to buy gift
vouchers towards the cost of further education (FE) courses. The
pilot project, running in nine colleges across England, will promote
FE courses as ‘the Perfect Gift’ for people to give
to friends and family, to help loved ones learn new skills. The
LSC says new research, commissioned by DIUS, reveals that over
half (56%) of people would like to receive a gift voucher for a
training course as a present. The gift vouchers can be used to
enrol on a variety of courses available at participating colleges
and are redeemable during the 2007-2008 academic year. Each gift
voucher has a value of £50 and may cover the full course
cost or a contribution towards it. Nov 2007
SKILLS
IN ENGLAND 2007
The LSC has published Skills in England 2007, an assessment of
the skills arena to highlight the key skills issues facing the
LSC and its partners following a comprehensive review of development
and evidence over the past year. The
report complements the key government publications in the skills
arena, including the Leitch Review of Skills. It highlights the
threats and opportunities facing the economy over the medium term,
and the role of skills in meeting these challenges. Its main conclusion
is that, while they are not a panacea, skills are key elements
in addressing the two main challenges facing the economy: maintaining
global competitiveness and reducing social exclusion. The evidence
is presented over four volumes as follows:
1. Key Messages: outlining key findings and policy implications
2. Research Report: providing in-depth analysis
3. Sectoral Perspectives: providing insights across industry
4. Regional/Local Perspectives: summarising the geographical situation. Nov
2007
INQUIRY
INTO THE FUTURE OF ADULT LEARNING
An inquiry into the future of adult learning has been launched.
Experts from government, business, academia, trade unions and public
service – with the assistance of the National Institute of
Adult Continuing Education (NIACE) – have started a process
intended to identify a broad consensus for the future direction
of adult learning policy in the UK. The Inquiry will focus on how
adult learning needs to respond to eight key themes, including
globalisation, demographic change, technological change, and environmental
sustainability. Nov 2007
EEF:
GOVERNMENT WILL NOT SOLVE SKILLS SHORTAGE WITH CASH ALONE
Following the recent Comprehensive Spending Review, manufacturers’ body
the EEF says the government must not rely on throwing money at
the Leitch Review targets. The EEF welcomed the £2.8bn budget
increase over three years for the Department for Innovation, Universities
and Skills (DIUS), as outlined in Alistair Darling's speech, but
said the real issue was ensuring the correct systems were in place
to tackle the skills shortage. The DIUS said the budget boost would
enable it to "make real progress against the Leitch ambitions
for world-class skills", but the EEF says the government “has
got a key job in terms of ensuring we see a better supply of people
coming out of the education system with good basic skills”.
(Reported by Personnel Today) Nov 2007
CEDEFOP
SURVEY: PRIORITIES FOR SKILLS NEEDS ANALYSIS
Cedefop’s Skillsnet conducts research to measure new and
emerging skills needs in specific sectors, and is currently inviting
contributions to an opinion poll to find out which sectors
should be investigated. [Cedefop is the European Centre for the
Development of Vocational Training, a European agency that helps
promote and develop vocational education and training in the EU.
Its head office is in Thessaloniki, and it is the EU's reference
centre for vocational education and training. 'Cedefop' is the
French acronym of the organisation's official title, Centre Européen
pour le Développement de la Formation Professionnelle.] Nov
2007
EUROPEAN
QUALIFICATIONS FRAMEWORK
The European Parliament has approved the establishment of the European
Qualifications Framework (EQF) for lifelong learning. The EQF
will act as a translation device between member states' qualifications
systems “in order to help employers and individuals compare
and better understand citizens' qualifications and thus support
mobility and lifelong learning”.
The EQF is a translation grid for qualifications around Europe,
and is intended to make different qualifications more easily readable
between different European countries, and so promote increased
mobility for learning or working. At the core of the EQF are eight
reference levels, covering basic to most advanced qualifications.
The recommendation approved by the European Parliament foresees
that member states will relate their national qualifications systems
to the EQF by 2010, and that individual certificates or diplomas
should bear an EQF reference by 2012. Nov 2007
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