VICTORIA, BC - FEBRUARY 24, 2009: The timing could not have been better for Sector Learning Solutions, who introduced their new eClass format to clients in the BC Government the same day Finance Minister Colin Hansen was delivering a budget that mandated a 22% reduction in travel for government employees.
“eClass was designed specifically to address the training needs of our times,” said Sector Learning CEO Gerry Brimacombe. “eClass allows government employees to attend training courses from their office workstation, eliminating the travel costs and carbon impact of attending an offsite training session.”
On the day of the budget, representatives from 9 Ministries attended Sector’s inaugural eClass which focused on the primary tool used by the provincial government for its online training – Microsoft Live Meeting. The Ministries involved included:
· Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation
· Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources
· Housing and Social Development
· Intergovernmental Relations Secretariat
· Labour and Citizens' Services
· BC Public Service Agency
· Small Business and Revenue
· Small Business, Technology and Economic Development
· Tourism, Culture and the Arts
By not driving to the training session, attendees eliminated an estimated 0.32 tonnes of potential CO2 emissions.
In a brisk 30 minute session delivered entirely over the Internet, attendees learned how to share documents, take user polls, chat to other attendees and publish meeting results to a shared space. Unlike some Computer Based Training Models, which are recorded and ask users to follow along at their own speed, Sector Learning’s eClass is led by a live instructor with plenty of attendee interaction, important in an online environment where attention spans are short.
“Sector has structured eClass to make the online experience just as engaging as a classroom session and much more convenient,” said Brimacombe. Rather than a full day of learning, like you would normally see for a class in MS Word or Excel, a Sector Learning eClass is broken into hour long sections spread over several days. This allows the user to choose the session they attend, not wasting time on material they already understand or don’t require, while not eating up a day of productive work time out of the office. The added benefit, according to Brimacombe, is that “users learn and retain knowledge better by returning to it over time. It’s not just one and done.”
Microsoft LiveMeeting is the first in a suite of eClass offerings that Sector Learning Solutions will introduce in 2009. Future offerings will include other members of the Microsoft Office 2007 suite, such as Excel and Word, plus Microsoft SharePoint, which is a collaborative tool used across the BC Government and around the world.
About Sector Learning Solutions:
Sector Learning Solutions Inc. is a privately held Canadian corporation, established in 1983, and is qualified as a preferred vendor for the BC Public Sector under Corporate Supply Arrangement CSA#000333.
Sector Learning Solutions provides training to thousands of users annually in the BC Public Sector, specializing in the Microsoft Office suite of products – including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Project and SharePoint.
Sector helped develop the curriculum and continues to delivers trainings related to Upgrade 2.0 (Windows Vista Operating System and MS Office 2007) for all Ministries.
Sector provided early adopter training to 300 BC Gov’t executives and support staff in 2008 for the Advanced Communication and Collaboration Project (ACCS), which includes LiveMeeting, Groove, InfoPath and OneNote.
Sector was a finalist in Victoria’s 2006 Better Business Bureau Torch Award for Ethical Customer Service and was also a finalist for the Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce Business of the Year (1-10 employees) in 2008.
Press Contact:
Jason Scriven
Director Marketing and Sales
Jason.scriven@sectorlearning.com
Direct: 250-516-5903