Over the past 15 years, the delivery and consumption of IT education had not changed much. Prior to one of the world's most disruptive events, 11 September 2001, IT training was mainly delivered by an instructor, in a classroom for a period of three to five days. This major disruption forced the training industry and technology OEMs to develop ways in which training could be delivered remotely.
The industry gave birth to new acronyms like CBT (computer-based training), WBT (Web-based training) and JITT (just-in-time training). A new era of training began and remained steady until the most recent, and unlikely disruption, the millennial learner.
In 2015 millennials will tip the balance in the workforce. Raised on sophisticated video games and on-demand media, this new generation of student demands more from the industry. They expect innovation. They expect skills-based learning from mixed media modalities. And they expect to be rewarded for their achievements along the way. According to a world-renowned medical school in the US, millennials:
* Need guidance and focus in their learning;
* Value (and expect) aesthetically appealing educational presentations; and
* Want to use the most current eLearning technologies.
While the industry has been scrambling to adjust to this disruption, Ingram Micro, the world's largest technology distributor, introduced its global training initiative, Flexible Integrated Training (FIT), with the millennial learner in mind.
The FIT training program was designed based on six instructional tactics:
* Flexible Timing;
* Interactive Engagement;
* Gamification;
* Skill's-Based Rewards;
* Measured Learning Outcomes; and
* Modular Content.
These tactics are integrated in three FIT delivery methods:
1. FIT On-Demand - A library of video technology content delivered by certified instructors in a contained portal. With the thousands upon thousands of 'how-to' videos available, Ingram Micro's FIT On-Demand offers professionally produced content without all of the digital clutter.
2. FIT L.I.V.E. - Or Learning Immersion in a Virtual Environment takes you to another world, a virtual world, where your avatar can interact with others, access digital content, have mentoring sessions with an instructor, learn through gaming labs and receive rewards based on acquired skills.
3. FIT University - Similar to a university semester, this modality offers concentrated skills learning in as little as two hours a day.
"Ingram Micro has broken new ground in the training industry," says Frans Sadie, Business Unit Manager for Ingram Micro Training. "The FIT programme will help students realise the promise of technology by acquiring skills in ways that they have become accustomed to."
The FIT programme was released in June, 2015 and students are already giving Ingram Micro an A+ on its FIT L.I.V.E. solution. "FIT L.I.V.E. helped enhance the online experience. It was far more interactive than a conference line or Webinar link. I would recommend it to anyone who asks," shares Deirdre Viljoen from First Distribution.
Ingram Micro entered the IT training and skills distribution business in 2014 and has rapidly grown its footprint around the globe. What makes Ingram Micro unique in the training industry is that it is leveraging its vast customer base, physical locations, subject matter expertise and IT vendor relationships to deliver the highest quality IT education in the industry. Ingram Micro offers authorised training on the world's leading IT technologies including IBM, Hewlett-Packard Enterprise, CISCO, VMware and Microsoft.
"Technology education is a journey, not a destination," adds Sadie. Ingram Micro will continue to innovate, collaborate and deliver industry-leading technology education for this generation and for generations to come."
For more information on Ingram Micro, visit www.ingrammicrotraining.co.za Watch the video https://ingrammicrotraining.wistia.com/medias/jrk9zuvgud.
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