General Motors (GM) has become the latest large organisation to commit to e-learning. It has done so with the launch of a new e-learning library to 50 000 employees throughout North America.
The e-learning initiative gives employees access to more than 260 courses in US English, Canadian French and Latin American Spanish.
The library consists of business skills courseware from Nasdaq-listed e-learning specialist SkillSoft, whose range of products are marketed and sold exclusively in SA by Learning Resources.
The SkillSoft courses cover a wide range of topics, such as project management, decision-making and team leadership. Employees access the courses through General Motors University (GMU), a global network of education and training resources designed for GM`s executive, management, technical and professional employees.
One of the largest corporate universities for salaried employees, GM University has 16 functional colleges focused on the professional needs and business challenges in areas such as communications, engineering, finance, legal, and service and parts.
GMU offers 1 500 courses worldwide through classroom delivery, learning laboratories, satellite distance learning, and electronic and Web-based applications. SkillSoft courseware is the largest off-the-shelf library currently available through GMU for foundation business skills training and development.
"We believe employee development is directly tied to competitive advantage," says Donnee Ramelli, president of General Motors University. "Over the last two years, we have been adding e-learning to complement traditional types of training, such as classes and seminars. The new SkillSoft courseware will be used in a variety of ways: as prerequisite courses; for addressing identified skills gaps; and as foundation courses for those employees seeking to broaden skills for their professional development or new job requirements."
"GM`s commitment to global learning and continual employee development represents a recognition of the connection between training and business drivers such as increased productivity, higher revenue per employee and talent retention," says Chuck Moran, president and CEO of SkillSoft.
"This initiative by GM illustrates what many market commentators know to be true," comments Mike Pitsillis, GM of the e-learning division of Learning Resources. "The market for e-learning is booming, as companies come to understand its power, its flexibility, and its potential for enhancing retention and positively impacting the bottom line."
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