Blended learning training provider, FUEL, has started 2012 with a series of significant achievements to mark the 10-year anniversary of the business. In February, FUEL celebrates a big new client win, having been awarded oil company Total's retailer training account.
FUEL has also announced the recent appointment of a high-profile new managing director for FUEL Motor - industry heavyweight Francois Loubser. Meanwhile, a new-look brand, launching this month, heralds a strategic restructure and new market positioning for FUEL.
Total has this week appointed FUEL as exclusive training partner for its entire retailer framework. This will entail the training of more than 5 000 forecourt attendants, cashiers and site managers as the brand's representatives at 550 Total service stations around the country.
FUEL founder and Group MD Craig Reid says it is critical to provide a convenient and consistent staff training platform for Total, which relies on large workforces with significant geographical separation of branches.
“FUEL ensures sustainable communication to all representatives of a brand, to allow Total to implement its strategy from senior management all the way down the ranks to the staff through whom customers experience the brand day-to-day.”
Total's forecourt staff and managers will be trained by means of presenter-led videos, viewed on touch-screens and PCs at the filling stations where they work. “We will use the most engaging digital training format available to allow for a level of 'edutainment' that ensures the user's focused attention on the training material,” Reid continues.
The appointment of Loubser, who effectively stepped into the role of MD of FUEL's motor division at the end of last year, marks another exciting milestone for FUEL as the company restructures and redefines its training offering. A doyen of the local marketing and motoring industries, Loubser brings unparalleled experience and trade understanding to his new role at the helm of FUEL Motor.
Reid says: “Francois is an exceptional leader and his depth of insight into the motoring sector will be instrumental to the growth of FUEL's motor training business. He will drive our strategy to extend FUEL's expertise as a sales and product training specialist into offering training for every employee within the dealership, head office and manufacturing environments. By doing this, we aim to provide a holistic learning solution for our OEM clients.”
Loubser served as Director and later Vice-President of Marketing Communications during a career at Toyota SA, which spanned more than 35 years. During his tenure at Toyota, he played a material role in establishing the manufacturer as a market leader and arguably the most successful marque in South Africa. Loubser sat for more than 20 years on hearing committees of the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) including many years on its Final Appeals Committee, as well as serving stints as Chairman of the South African Advertising Research Foundation (SAARF), and as a judge of the Loeries advertising awards. He is also currently the Naamsa Show Co-ordinator for the Johannesburg International Motor Show.
With the appointment of Loubser as FUEL Motor MD, Reid moves into the position of FUEL Group MD. Reid is optimistic about the year ahead for the business.
“For the past year, FUEL has refined a strategy to use the experience we've gained in building bespoke blended learning academies for our motoring clients, and extend this to different industries. Over 10 years, FUEL has successfully created online learning platforms within the confines of the South African IT infrastructure, where shortage of bandwidth outside of urban centres severely curtails the effectiveness of online training to a dispersed workforce. We've become professionals in building the system and now we are expanding our operation to offer solutions to other industries, from retail, financial services and banking, to property, franchising and food.”
To reflect the new positioning, the company has moved away from its 'FUEL Online Training' brand, and has this month introduced its fresh new branding. FUEL's revamped red and white corporate identity now incorporates four new icons representing the key pillars of its offering, namely Consult, Create, Implement, and Manage.
“We're looking forward to using the new FUEL look and feel in association with our diverse offerings to new industries, including FUEL Retail and FUEL Financial Services,” Reid concludes.
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