London (UK), September 2011 - The National Skills Academy for Power (the Skills Academy), aided by Core Learning Services (CLS), a consultancy providing eLearning-related products and services, is introducing online learning materials as part of its strategy of skills development within power companies.
The online learning materials were launched in September to some 93,900 workers in the UK's power sector. "The Skills Academy's remit is to promote and support best practice in skills within our industry", explains Ian Wilcox, Commercial Manager for the National Skills Academy for Power.
"We're committed to a variety of best-practice skills-delivery methods and techniques. The online learning supplied through CLS is part of a blended offering that the Skills Academy is developing. Our specific focus is the power sector, including generation, metering, renewables, and transmission and distribution all the way up to the meter", he adds.
Initiated by Government, the Skills Academy recognises that overcoming skills challenges in the power sector cannot be the responsibility of one organisation alone. So the Skills Academy brings together market leaders to create the engineers of tomorrow to respond to a rapidly evolving and increasingly sophisticated power sector.
"An element of our employer-driven business plan was to introduce online courses via our website as part of the overall strategy of skills development within power companies", says Ian Wilcox. "We then sought three potential providers of this service and selected CLS, managed by Paul Higgins, as our partner in promoting the online aspect of this."
"Although the Skills Academy website and our business are aimed at UK-based companies, the website also gets hits from other countries around the world", he adds.
Paul Higgins, Sales Director at CLS, comments, "Our experience with other sectors' Sector Skills Councils and Skills Academies - such as the sport and leisure sector - shows that online learning is a popular method of learning delivery. Moreover, we believe that it's important that the platform for the online learning materials - the LMS - provides easy access for learners to the eLearning materials and ensures that the learners gain a positive experience."
The Think Power website, also an initiative of the Skills Academy, has recently been shortlisted for the best recruitment website in the CIPD Recruitment Marketing Awards 2011. It promotes the careers and benefits available and offers an online vacancy service whereby members of the Skills Academy can post their vacancies, and individuals can search and apply for jobs in the power sector.
