A tender issued by the Banking Sector Education and Training Authority (Bank SETA) in April 2003 calling for research into the possibility of implementing a sector-wide e-learning initiative within the industry was awarded to joint partners, the University of the Western Cape (UWC) and Safmarine Computer Services (SCS).
The project, which commenced on 25 June 2003, is scheduled to run for four months.
Following a fact-finding field trip earlier this year to the US and Canada, representatives from SA's largest banks, Absa, First National Bank, Standard Bank and Nedbank, found that e-learning initiatives were well in place and working in many overseas banks, some of which include TD Canada Trust, the Royal Bank of Canada, the Bank of Montreal and City Group.
"The research project will investigate the readiness of South African banks and associate companies to use e-learning sector-wide, as well as gauge the willingness within the industry to go this route, and the feasibility of having sector-wide generic e-learning material," says Tertia Albertyn, e-learning manager for integrated business solutions provider, SCS.
"During the early stages, the research methods will be qualitative in nature through the utilisation of structured interviewing techniques, content analysis and the use of some grounded theory procedures where appropriate. This process will result in a framework that will guide the rest of the research process, as well as help to populate a questionnaire," says project director Kobus Smit, who is acting head of the Department of Information Systems in the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences at UWC.
"The latter phases of the project will focus more on quantitative research methods for the collection and analysis of research data," added Smit.
Timing is a central issue, as instant delivery is a strong feature of e-learning and problem resolution is a key factor in business performance. As the Bank SETA's overseas study indicated, new time-scales for learning presents the greatest managerial challenge.
UWC and SCS therefore engaged to collaborate in an investigation that seeks to indicate whether e-learning is a suitable option to support the Bank SETA in its quest to address skills issues in the banking sector, and whether it should initiate the provision of non-competitive (or generic) learning to the industry by electronic means.
"The Bank SETA is excited with this project .We believe that this initiative shows the vision, determination and commitment of the banking sector when it comes to people development," says Frank Groenewald, Chief Executive Officer, Bank SETA.
News about the project will be published on the project Web site and those who are interested can offer comments at: http://www.uwc.ac.za/ems/is/appliedResearch/bankseta/.
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