Chapter
23
The Practice of Learning and Development
315
Case studIes
Developing a learning strategy for Remploy
Remploy is a government-funded organization that pro-
vides employment and development opportunities for
disabled people. It operates 83 factories. The company’s
strategy for learning is explicit and well understood in
the organization, and was developed from the bottom-up
rather than top-down. Its starting point was recognition
that a number of local initiatives in the factories were
proving successful and could be developed on a national
basis.
The trade unions advocated enhanced opportunities for
skill development in basic areas. As a result a national
strategy was developed with learning centres as a major
element in all 83 sites. Although the use of each learning
centre is locally determined, they all have the following in
common: a physical location (with at least some PCs);
a relationship with a local college whose tutors will visit
the site to advise and facilitate; and access to a suite
of e-learning programmes, made available from the
LearnDirect library (the national e-learning initiative).
Training overhaul for Scottish police
A radical overhaul of training for the Scottish police has
created more opportunities for promotion and culminated
in a prestigious National Training Award. The improved
training scheme uses facilitated learning delivery, where
trainees pre-read all information before attending sessions
and then discuss issues and learn from each other.
Responsibility for learning is now firmly placed on the
shoulders of the individual – you have got to want to be a
police officer and you have got to want to learn. After 15
weeks of initial training, a two-week ‘reconvention’ period
helps staff with the areas they particularly need to address.
This training is tailored to individual requirements: syndicates
of recruits with similar needs are put together to receive it.
This ‘partnership approach’ had helped the participants
to focus on communication and problem-solving skills.
A Certificate of Higher Education in policing, accredited by
the University of Stirling, is awarded on completion of the
programme. There are also opportunities to take a diploma
in management skills.
Integrated e-learning at Cable & Wireless
E-learning at Cable & Wireless is based on the establishment
and promotion of a single platform for learning. This has
been delivered through an outsourcing arrangement with
the e-learning company SkillSoft. The core platform is a
learning management system that is available to Cable &
Wireless colleagues as a portal labelled ‘iLEARN’. All training
delivery channels are linked to this portal. The library of
generic material consists of some 15,000 items plus about
60 modules commissioned by Cable & Wireless.
In the first year since the e-learning system was
launched, three-quarters of the workforce used it and this
penetration figure is rising. Some 20,000 e-learning activities
were accessed and 15,000 hours of e-learning undertaken
in total.
Training and learning at a Customer Support Centre
The Customer Support Centre employs 300 people. Customer
service agents work in a group of five, known as a ‘pod’. One
of the pod members will be a team coach who provides
support and advice to his or her agent colleagues.
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