e-Learning provider ADvTECH Skills has launched Skills Gateway (www.skillsgateway.co.za), a learning portal that offers access to 700 online courses on a hosted basis.
Brandon Sandiford, project manager at ADvTECH Skills, says the primary aim of the site is to give SMEs (small to medium enterprises) and consumers access to a range of courseware and learning systems previously only available to larger organisations due to cost and infrastructural constraints.
Over the next few months Skills Gateway plans to roll-out other components that support and feed into the learning process, such as online assessment, Skills Development Act assistance and a variety of other strategic and management services to complement the hosted solution.
Sandiford says larger companies and corporate clients can also benefit from Skills Gateway. Training outcomes are as measurable as if they were running on an organisation`s own learning management system (LMS). Skills Gateway will enable companies without the required infrastructure, for example SMEs, to utilise e-learning without additional expenditure on infrastructure, as long as they have Internet access.
In addition, the content and competency measurements found on Skills Gateway can be used to support existing training programmes, as long as they integrate with the extensive courseware range offered by ADvTECH Skills. Sandiford adds: "Clients can use the Web site on an ad hoc, component basis or make use of our consultants to design a hosted solution from the components to suit their needs. Alternatively, clients may elect to deploy some or all of the components via their own infrastructure in accordance with their e-learning strategy.
"In mid-November we will be launching an online learning facilitation service via Skills Gateway in conjunction with Performance Growth Network. This service will encourage learners to interact with a facilitator and with each other to enhance the learning process. A competency matrix feature will enable learners to establish a training plan suited to their needs and indicate which facilitation group to use."
Prices online are per person per course, which gives users 12-month access and the ability to redo the course, or parts thereof, as often as required until they are proficient. Because most courses on Skills Gateway are matched to certification standards, once learners have reached a high enough level of proficiency, they can write an exam at an accredited testing centre such as Prometric, CompTIA, ICDL or similar and receive internationally-recognised certificates.
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