Xpert Learning holds a seminar for Learning & Development Professionals in Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi, March 24, 2010. Xpert Learning hosted a seminar for Learning and Development Professionals at Park Rotana Hotel in Abu Dhabi. The Xpert Learning team included Janine Croft, Managing Director, Paul Michael Gledhill, Director and Co-Founder, William Spindloe, Business Development Director and Riham Khoury, Account Manager. During this informative and practical workshop, presentations were delivered to the audience by the Xpert Learning team on the following key learning and development topics:

• Building the vision and mission of L & D
• Success Criteria – What do you measure?
• ROI calculating practices
• Justifying Budgets – “Learning to love the CFO”
• Doing more for Less – Hints and Tips

The event included lunch and a networking session which allowed the attendees to get to know each other and share ideas and best practices about the industry.

Paul Michael Gledhill, addressing the audience, emphasized on the importance of the ability for Learning and Development professionals to converse with finance professionals using their language. “Success and measurements need to be translated to business impact and return on investment,” said Mr. Gledhill.

William Spindloe, during his presentation entitled ‘Justifying Budgets – Learning to love the CFO’, highlighted the dynamics involved when requesting for a training budget for learning and development. “If you don’t get the training budget you think you need and deserve, you need to ask yourself why. How well did you justify the need to the CFO? Did you put together a robust return on investment analysis? If not, then you will definitely get the budget you deserve, but not necessarily the one you need,” said Mr. Spindloe.

Through these probing questions, Mr. Spindloe got the audience to interact and engage in discussions and brainstorming sessions.

Shabbar Sheikh, Career Planning Coordinator at the Knowledge and Human Development Authority of the Government of Dubai, loved the seminar.

“It was a pleasure meeting the Xpert Learning team and being a part of the workshop. I really feel as if I’ve benefited from the experience and look forward to hearing more from your team and organization,” said Mr. Sheikh.

Ariel A. L. Atabug, Talent Manager at Habtoor Hotels, shared the views of Mr. Sheikh. “The workshop was definitely helpful and I’m sure all of us who attended picked up more than just a few points for our respective Battles of the ‘Budget’,” said Mr. Atabug.

Sonali Bahri, Talent Acquisition and Development Manager at AstraZeneca - Gulf FZ-LLC, found the session very useful and thanked the Xpert Learning team for organizing and facilitating.

Given the success of the seminar and positive feedback received from the audience, Xpert Learning plans to organize similar events within the United Arab Emirates (UAE), more specifically Dubai, in the near future.

Join the Xpert Dragon Boat on April 2 & 3, 2010 at Festival Marina, Dubai Festival City

Experience the Chinese boating challenge by joining the Xpert Dragon Boat team on April 2 & 3, 2010 at the Festival Marina, Dubai Festival City. Dragon Boating is a thrilling water sport, full of adrenaline, sportsmanship, strategy, and technique. It is also a sport that is all about positive team spirit, being healthy, making friends and having fun.

Dragon Boating coincides with the fifth day of the fifth month of the Chinese lunar calendar (May-June). The sun and the dragon are most powerful at this time of year, so the Chinese people pay homage to this through ritual celebrations such as dragon boat racing. So it’s not only a chance to enjoy the weather or the sea but an opportunity to experience and become part of this culture.

It will be an incredible experience! Join us for this event and become an Xpert Dragon by sending us an email to info@xpertlearning.com before the 30th March 2010.

Xpert Learning awards prizes in the 'Skills for Employability' workshop for Emirati students from vocational colleges in Dubai & Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi, March 16, 2010. Xpert Learning teams up with British Council, Barclays Bank and Injaz-UAE, a member of Junior Achievement Worldwide, to organize a free job skills workshop for Emirati students from vocational colleges in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

Through role-playing scenarios and other activities, the students were taught some of the things they will need to join the workforce.

“We were taught things we didn’t even realise we needed, and just through the knowledge of it, we immediately feel more confident,” said Ms al Mehairbi, an Emirati student attending the workshop.

To highlight their support for this initiative, Xpert Learning offered prizes to the winners of a competition organized within the workshop. Paul Gledhill, Director and Co-Founder of Xpert Learning, one of the leading content and e-Learning solution providers in the Middle East, said that students had a great day and learned lots of useful things to help them in their quests for knowledge.

“The real story, however, is what happens next and how their progress are followed up. To this end, our prize comprised of a series of 6 x 1 hour online modules, which cover key skills to enhance their learning, as of that day. These courses include Leadership Essentials, Generating Creative and Innovative Ideas, Business Writing, Optimizing Your Work/Life Balance, Being an Effective Member and Managing Your Career,” said Mr. Gledhill.

He further added that, “the really interesting part is that, through our learning portal, we can track the usage of these courses by time spent, course completions and scores. We can also communicate with the students using social media like chat and discussion boards.”

Melanie Relton, the regional vocational education manager at the British Council, said students may have the technical knowledge once they graduate, but that there is still a skills gap.

Employers say many graduates lack the practical skills, such as how to communicate, lead groups and solve problems creatively, that they need them to have.

Lara Khouri, a regional marketing manager for Edexcel, an international company that provides educational training, said employers were looking for people who are open to instruction, are willing to be trained and who want to keep learning.

Nora al Ali, 18, from the Abu Dhabi Women’s College, loved the training.

“It’s not that we’re being taught what we’re doing right and wrong in our presentations, but we’re also being shown how to interact, and that we should be interacting in the first place,” said Ms al Ali, a foundation-year student.

Ms al Ali said female students tended to be shy in a mixed environments and lacked confidence.

She said the training could help women candidates overcome their shyness and any lack of confidence.

“It is such a benefit to be given the opportunity to develop something new in ourselves, that we don’t learn about in college,” she said.

Rebecca Taylor, an English teacher at Abu Dhabi Women’s College, said her students were eager to take part in the training.

“It was not compulsory for students, and yet they jumped at the opportunity to try something new that could benefit them.

“They get the chance to exercise newly acquired skills through practical exercises, and it fosters their creativity.”

This type of learning, added Ms Taylor, provides students with the chance to mix with other like-minded students from other colleges, which is good practice for the real world.

Louise King, a business teacher at Abu Dhabi’s Vocational Education and Training Institute (Adveti), also received positive feedback from her students.

“We build up their skills over two years in the classroom, but here, they apply these skills and new ones as well; it is applicable to students in all disciplines, regardless of what they are studying.”

A similar programme will be offered as an optional course to 10th and 11th graders, as well as first-, second- and third-year college students at the Abu Dhabi Men’s and Women’s Colleges, Adveti and the Dubai National Institute for Vocational Education.

“By working together with partners, future employers and business mentors, we can help students both professionally and through their own personal development,” Ms Relton said.

Xpert Learning's partner, SkillSoft, ranks #1 in Customer Loyalty for 3rd consecutive year in survey of global software and IT companies

NASHUA, N.H.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--SkillSoft PLC (Nasdaq: SKIL), a leading SaaS provider of e-learning and performance support solutions for global enterprises, government, education and small to medium-sized businesses, today announced that it has been ranked first in a customer loyalty survey for the third consecutive year. This year's survey of SkillSoft customers was conducted in September and October by TNS, the world's largest custom research company.

The customer loyalty score is derived from customer responses in key areas including intent to repurchase and willingness to act as a reference. SkillSoft significantly exceeds industry benchmarks in all areas. In fact, 97 percent of customers who answered said they would act as a product reference, the highest score for this category since SkillSoft started commissioning the survey in 2004. SkillSoft continues to receive high marks for their products, customer service and ease of doing business.

During the three years that SkillSoft has topped the customer loyalty results in the TNS index, it has been benchmarked against companies ranging in size from approximately $100 million to $120 billion in revenue. All companies are in the software or IT services sectors.

"We've invested in a large, customer-facing sales and services organization so that our customers have the best experience possible, and we also invest heavily in R&D to ensure that our customers have access to the most innovative products," said Chuck Moran, President and CEO for SkillSoft. "We emphasize to every employee that being responsive to customers is the most important thing they do, and this survey reflects this commitment."

Comments provided by customers reveal that SkillSoft's learning consultants are a key ingredient in receiving high satisfaction responses. SkillSoft's 24x7x365 customer service center also receives high marks. Comments such as the following were frequently provided:

"Your consultants are the best I have worked with in terms of being customer focused. They truly try to understand our needs, goals and targets. They take feedback very professionally."

"Business partnering and responsiveness to customers are the best we've seen."

"We have received excellent service and support and they have been accommodating to us."

The surveys – which detail customers' attitudes towards SkillSoft – are commissioned annually by the company to help drive continuous improvements across the organization. SkillSoft has approximately 10 million end users at 3,000 companies including roughly half of the Fortune 500.

"One thing we believe strongly is that you can't improve something if you don't measure it," said Tom Buehrer, Senior Vice President at TNS, which works with many of the Fortune 500’s top technology companies to provide market measurement, analysis and insight. "SkillSoft is a great example of a company that backs up its promises about customer satisfaction with research programs to make sure they are achieving their goals."

Xpert Learning gives Free Access to the Pandemic Flu Awareness e-Learning program

There is still widespread concern over the risk of exposure to the deadly Bird Flu and H1N1 Flu (Swine Flu). The virus has become a health emergency in the region and around the globe.

"As part of our corporate social responsibility," says Paul Michael Gledhill Director and Co-Founder of Xpert Learning, "We have been offering an e-Learning course to our Corporate clients. Now, we would like to offer this to everyone in the region with internet access," he continues.

The course is a short and engaging 1 hour program which deals with the following:

• What is Bird/H1N1 Flu?

• How is it transmitted?

• What are the symptoms?

• Bird/H1N1 Flu treatments

For anyone who is interested, please visit our website at www.xpertlearning.com and click the banner advertisement located in the left column of the homepage to take you to the Pandemic Flu course.

Register Free of Charge and learn how to protect you and your family today.