17 March 2006
Avon, Gloucestershire & Wiltshire Strategic Health Authority has chosen e2train to supply its new managed learning environment (MLE) across all of the authority’s 25 NHS Trusts, taking in some 65,000 staff. The system comprises a complete ‘best of breed’ solution of Kallidus Learning Management System, Performance, Learning Content Management System and Centra’s Virtual Classroom System.
The new MLE will provide those working in health and social care in Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire with a complete view of all their training plans with learning history, course information and classroom management tools available on a single web portal. Training staff, content authors and subject matter experts will manage and create e-learning content using the system’s collaboration and workflow tools to streamline the processes. As with other e2train NHS clients, the MLE will be integrated over time with the NHS Electronic Staff Records system (ESR).
Sally Hernando, Assistant Director of Quality, at the Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire Workforce Development Confederation explained; “Our new learning environment will provide a complete collaborative learning community for all our staff in Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire. Access to all components will be through the Internet. That means we will now be able to access information on classroom courses, download e-learning and take part in virtual classroom sessions in any location with Internet access.
One of our key objectives will be to develop web-based learning communities where learners with similar needs, who are otherwise widely dispersed, can come together on-line and support each other through the learning process.
For trainers and managers, the system means that we will now be able choose the kind of learning – be it e-learning, classroom or virtual classroom – that most suits our requirements, improving efficiency and value for money. Equally importantly, we will be using the system to track progress and knowledge gained to assess and enhance job competencies, linking to the NHS Knowledge and Skills Framework, and helping us to deliver Standards for Better Healthcare”.
Rob Caul, managing director of e2train commented: “We are delighted to have been selected to supply this critical system to the Avon Gloucestershire and Wiltshire Strategic Health Authority. As you may imagine, there was tough competition from other major suppliers throughout the rigorous tendering process. But our experience and focus in successfully delivering this kind of solution to the NHS enabled us to offer strategic benefits which may otherwise be lost. So, for instance, our ability to integrate with the NHS Electronic Staff Records system means that the authority can streamline its work processes and provide a more consistent desktop environment: an important factor with so many systems now vying for the attention of the average employee!”
The system will roll out in a phased implementation during the next six months.
The Managed Learning Environment is being developed within the overall framework of the NHS’s national e-learning strategy, ‘Supporting best practice in e-learning across the NHS’, developed by the NHS National Workforce Group. It fits in with the ongoing growth and consolidation of the Health and Social Care Academies across Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire. The next Academy development is the creation of local ‘learning centres’ throughout each health community. In the learning centres staff will have access to state of the art IT facilities, through which they will be able to access the MLE
About Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire Strategic Health Authority
Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire Strategic Health Authority is one of 28 Strategic Health Authorities (SHAs) set up in 2001. Within Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire there are 25 NHS Trusts with 65,000 staff comprising of 13 NHS Trusts (which include major hospitals, ambulance services and mental health services). There are 12 Primary Care Trusts which take the leading role in patient care and are responsible for the planning and securing of health services and improving the health of the local population of 2.2 million.
For more information about the Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire NHS Managed Learning Environment please contact Sally Hernando: tel: 01249 858852 or email Sally.Hernando@agwsha.nhs.uk
Or Alastair Thorn, Project Manager: tel: 07867 908640; email Alastair.Thorn@agwsha.nhs.uk
About e2train Ltd
Founded in 2000 from the training division of Audiosoft Limited, e2train is a leading provider of learning systems and solutions to major organisations around the world. Its products include Kallidus® Learning Management System and Kallidus® Authoring system, as well as reselling products from Questionmark™, Impatica™ and leading content providers such as Thomson NETg and Harvard. e2train also provide bespoke content, integration and hosting services.
Other organisations currently benefiting from using e2train solutions include: O2, Ofcom, Chubb Insurance Europe, Bank of Ireland, T&F Informa, House of Fraser, Waitrose, South Wales, West Mercia, Kent and Dorset Police, Mencap, Royal Air Force, Slaughter & May, Norton Rose, Perth & Kinross Council, Carmarthenshire County Council and The Environment Agency.
For more information about e2train and Kallidus®, please visit our website www.e2train.com or contact Martin Belton direct on 01285 883909, email martin.belton@e2train.com