Distance learning a perfect solution for SMEs

FEW people realise that managers in small and medium businesses often require a very different type of management training to those in larger organisations.

With managers in SMEs frequently having less stringent job roles and being required to get involved with various aspects of business, it can be difficult to find a training course which develops the skills of a manager to fully support the growth of an SME organisation.

It is often the case that SMEs simply can’t afford to give their managers time off the job to attend training to develop their skills, regardless of the extent to which they may need it. What few SMEs realise is that a solution to this dilemma is available and that this solution can be tailored to meet the specific development needs of an individual.

Distance Learning College & Training is a local college with an international reputation for expertise and excellence. The college was set up to provide education and qualifications to adult professionals looking to develop their skills and knowledge in business to achieve success.

With this aim in mind, the college has been supporting students in the North East, across the UK and worldwide in achieving management qualifications accredited by the Institute of Leadership and Management and the Chartered Management Institute. The college offers management courses at all levels which recognise that the learning and development needs of business people in the region vary greatly.

The courses offer adults the flexibility to choose from a vast range of management areas – from customer service to employee motivation, profit and loss to strategic planning – and mix and match these areas of development to suit their needs.

With the institute accreditation and recognised qualifications the courses carry, SMEs are confident that managers are receiving the highest quality professional development.

Distance Learning College & Training has won awards nationally for the quality of its course provision, providing a flexible service with a uniquely advanced level of support.

The college acknowledges that businesses often cannot afford to give staff time off the job to attend classroom training sessions but that students still need to receive the level of support from a tutor they would expect from a classroom course.

The college’s approach to providing learning provision is flexible to the individual, meaning they can study at times to suit them.

Recession drives e-Learning adoption in the food sector | New ...

As the global downturn starts to bite harder firms are being forced to find new ways to cut costs. Historically recessions cause businesses to cut back on staff training but with current legislation making many training courses mandatory businesses are being forced to innovate.

Current EU legislation in the food sector requires that all food handlers must receive appropriate supervision, and be instructed and/or trained in food hygiene, to enable them to handle food safely. Those responsible for developing and maintaining the business’s food safety procedures, based on HACCP principles, must have received adequate training. Whilst the legislation does not require a formal qualification as such, small business’s are required to demonstrate the procedures they have in place for ensuring their staff are trained.

Many small business’s are now requiring staff applying for jobs to have already obtained a food hygiene certificate to even be considered for employment. Gary Fowler, Managing Director of High Speed Training the UK’s leading provider of food hygiene training says:

“Since September when the global downturn began we have seen a 70% increase in sales of our food related e-Learning products. SME’s and individuals increasingly need a fast, convenient and low cost solution to meeting EU legislation that classroom based training simply can’t accommodate.”

Whilst large companies have utilised the benefits of in-house custom e-Learning solutions for some time, smaller companies are often unable to manage the up front costs many of these solutions require. This is particularly unfortunate as SME’s tend to incur larger costs when utilising traditional training methods as they find gathering staff together in one place to train can bring their business to a standstill. Many of the biggest online training providers don’t target small business as the average sale is usually too small. The rise in “off the shelf” e-Learning is an indication that the situation is improving, hopefully leading to efficient training for all business’s in the future.

With no end to the recession yet in sight hopefully technology can provide some much needed relief for our beleaguered business’s. In the long run perhaps the lessons learned may even prove to be worth the struggle?

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