Exercise for a good cause

Dubai, May 21, 2010. EXHALE Dubai, a fitness centre based in Jumeirah Beach Residence and Motor City, organized an event for ‘GOOD WILL JOURNEY’, an initiative in association with ‘HOPE & PLAY’ charity organization to help raise awareness and funds for the physically challenged children of Gaza.

GOOD WILL JOURNEY In May, June and July, Wissam Al-Jayyousi, a Palestinian gentleman, will be riding a motorbike over 40,000 km, crossing over 30 national boundaries from Dubai to London. He is doing this to raise awareness and funds for disabled and physically challenged children in Gaza.

HOPE & PLAY is an organization dedicated to helping add hope and play to the lives of children who are denied these most basic rights. They believe that every child has the right to safely play, learn and grow in a family environment, in an atmosphere of happiness, love and understanding.

The idea behind the initiative was to get people to participate in an exercise class at EXHALE, at a fee of AED 100 per person. The proceeds of this initiative go entirely to charity.

Rana Khoury, e-Learning Assessment Specialist and Project Manager at Xpert Learning and professional yoga trainer, was actively involved in this initiative. She headed a session on Vinyasa Yoga. Vinyasa means ’breath-synchronized movement’. In this session, the participants expect a dynamic practice offering a variety of asanas (postured) all connected by the breath, flowing with a dance-like movement. Creative and varied, this vigorous class was set to music and build strength, flexibility and endurance.

“What happened and has been happening in Gaza and the West Bank has had the most traumatizing effects on the citizens and children living there. The children of Gaza have been denied any sense of a normal childhood and any initiative that helps brings awareness, funds, and ultimately aid to those children is one that is very dear to my heart. As a yoga teacher, and a Palestinian, to be able to contribute in any way means a lot and is something I was not only happy but very proud to do”, said Rana.

Other sessions included Pilates Reformer and Flexi Bar Cardio by other qualified instructors from EXHALE Dubai.

The initiative was very successful with 50 participants attending and many more contributing.

As shown by Rana Khoury’s initiative, Xpert Learning prides itself on participating in various social responsibility initiatives, in its effort to not only lead the way in the field of e-Learning, but also to give back to the community and leave a positive mark wherever they can.

For more information about similar initiatives, please contact Rana Khoury at rana@xpertlearning.com or call +971505522741. You can also connect with Rana on LinkedIn

Employee welfare calls for online Health and Safety courses

Repeated explosions and thick, black smoke, resulting from a fire at Sharjah National Paints caused a chaos. The traffic was in a mad frenzy with Emirates Roads being cordoned off; whilst 250 fire-fighters were called from all over the emirates to control the fire (Khaleej Times, 2010). Surprisingly, this is the second such incident at National Paints as in the 1990’s a massive fire broke out and 40 people suffered injuries with a loss of over AED 50 million (Khaleej Times, 2010). Such unfortunate incidents occur due to carelessness of people who engage in dangerous activities such as disposing burning cigarettes and inadequate care of inflammables materials (Khaleej Times, 2010).

Xpert Learning offers Safety & Environmental training programs which aim to improve the safety of employees by the use of DVDs, along with a wide variety of online courses. The courses include fire safety/emergency training, environmental, hazardous materials, Chemical Handling, Risk Assessment, Electrical and Construction Safety.

For more information on these online courses, visit http://www.xpertlearning.com/ or contact William Spindloe at william.spindloe@xpertlearning.com   

Information taken from Khaleej Times

Poor planning and methodology main cause of project failure

A recent Middle East survey which highlighted a wide range of reasons for project failure, with improper planning and methodology cited as the leading factor in project failure, with 78% of respondents reporting it as an issue.

Other contributing factors to project failure included lack of communication (75%), and unrealistic target completion dates (67%), identified inadequate commitment and involvement from senior management (59%), insufficient budgets and resources (56%), too many assumptions and unknowns (51%), project politics and conflicts (38%), lack of set targets or measurable results (45%), and the formation of the wrong project team (27%).

The survey results reflect a region wide under-investment in project management tools and a lack of skills and training.

Other factors that the survey identified as causing problems with projects were lack of motivation and the inability to properly control the project team, insufficient risk analysis, lack of planning tools and weak IT infrastructure, slow decision making, lack of alignment with the organization's strategic goals, delays in engineering and procurement, wrong choice of contractors, design changes, and economic instability.

Xpert Learning offers a range of project management courses and certification tracks. For more information and brochure downloads of our offerings, click here.

This article has been taken from ITP.net.
(http://tinyurl.com/29pogk8)

Bridging the Gap: Preparing Students for the Modern Workplace

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates – May 6th 2010 - On Tuesday May 4th a group of key stakeholders from the UAE's education and training sectors met in Abu Dhabi, along with education professionals from the UK, to discuss how to provide world-class solutions to help engage employers and students as part of the British Council's Skills for Employability programme.

“There is a gap between what the business sector needs from its next generation of employees and the expectations and skill levels that the students have when they are first employed. This forum brings together people who can help bridge that gap,” says Paul Sellers, Country Director, British Council.

Melanie Relton, Regional Vocational Education Manager, for the British Council adds: “The key to a successful future is to draw on each other's experiences and with over 2,500 professionals from all over the world involved in the British Council's network, these partnerships can only be strengthened by these sorts of events.”

Patrick Groves, International Relationship Manager from Pembrokeshire College in United Kingdom, spoke at the seminar to share his experiences of creating a vocational training programme that gave students the skills, resources and knowledge to be an asset in the workplace. 

Stephan John, Head of Operations of People 1st, a UK organisation that specialises in developing training programmes for people in the leisure, travel, tourism and hospitality industries, said: “We create nationally recognised qualifications that mean every student and apprentice gains the right mix of knowledge and competence to thrive in employment. Working here in the UAE we can share our experiences and make a difference”

And finally, Paula McManus, Head of Learning and Development from National Bank of Abu Dhabi outlined how the bank is working to create a corporate culture of lifelong learning, career progression and personal development. 

The forum generated action points to ensure that education establishments and the private sector work together so that students in the UAE have the best opportunities possible to gain the relevant experience they need to make them valuable commodities in the modern workplace. 

 

For further information contact Sherry Farzami, British Council, Sherry.Farzami@ae.britishcouncil.org.

The Enterprise Challenge

A one-day event organized by the British Council, as part of its Skills for Employability programme. The Enterprise Challenge is designed to complement the students' existing curriculum while teaching modern workplace skills like problem solving, team work, verbal and non-verbal communication, presentation, leadership and entrepreneurial skills to the nation's future workforce. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-zXjs2GQ2k

Skills for Employability
Skills for Employability is a British Council programme that addresses the demand for skills in a global economy so that national educational and training systems are better able to respond to labour market demands and learner needs.
http://www.britishcouncil.org/learning-skills-for-employability.htm

Rachel Devereux-Douglas: A magical e-Learning journey at Supreme Group

Rachel Devereux-Douglas has worked in Dubai for 12 years, 10 years in a Learning & Development Capacity. She began her career with Emirates Airlines in 1998 and quickly began training Cabin Crew for Service Delivery and Customer Service. During her 5 years training, she completed a Training Development Diploma through the University of Leicester, before moving to the Corporate Leadership Department as a Learning & Development Specialist to deliver management training programs and development centers for senior managers. During this period, she began and has now completed her Masters in Social Science for Human Resource Development and Performance Management through the University of Leicester. After 10 years with Emirates Airlines, she moved to a company called ‘Supreme Group’ in 2008, a Foodservice and Logistics provider to clients in challenging and remote regions. She joined ‘Supreme Group’ as the Corporate Learning and Development Manager to set up the department and deliver management training programs. Supreme has grown from 3700 employees to 9000 during Rachel’s tenure and is still growing today.

After conducting 38 interviews as part of a Training Needs Analysis (TNA), she quickly identified employee needs, which evolved around almost 300 different topics with requirements for technical and non technical skills – which of course she could not personally deliver. Through networking, she was introduced to Paul Michael Gledhill, Director and Co-founder of Xpert Learning. Paul subsequently came to visit Rachel in a small office in Deira to discuss the needs of Supreme. Rachel then attended an open seminar facilitated by Xpert Learning, SkillSoft and their clients at a five-star hotel in Dubai. The event included a panel of high-profile Learning & Development professionals and speakers, all sharing best practices. Attending this seminar helped Rachel to conceptualize her approach to e-Learning in order to make the initiative within Supreme Group, a success. After this session, she prepared a SWOT analysis and conducted a cost benefit analysis to compare the cost of classroom training, travel, accommodation, time spent out of the business amongst others, to the fractional cost and large selection of online learning modules. Rachel was particularly attracted to how e-Learning could accommodate her employees’ needs, especially those working in remote locations with 24x7 learning at the fingertips.

e-Learning began in April 2009; the contract started with 100 employees who were nominated as ‘good performers’ in order to gain membership. At the onset this was treated as a ‘Reward’ program. Rachel selected modules that linked to the organization’s Mission, Vision and Values, core competencies, through an online TNA facilitated by Xpert Learning and face-to-face TNA by herself. This approach offered a seamless development plan aligned to the annual performance review. Through the application process, employees had to analyze and prioritize which modules would add most value to their development; this required feedback from the line manager, therefore aiming to gain commitment. The Manager was also requested to set objectives in the performance review, requesting their employees to complete at least 10 modules per year. Xpert Learning offered a lot of support and flexibility to add additional modules on where necessary; with quarterly scheduling in order to provide a summary of results and revisit achievement of objectives. This added value particularly where managers needed a specific skills set outside of the core competencies.

Rachel ensured that employees received a bi-monthly newsletter on e-Learning to illustrate results, employee testimonials, top 20 learners, most usage per business unit to create healthy competition and communicate prizes and prize winners for completing the most number of modules.

Halfway through the program, Rachel initiated a recognition ceremony to reward e-Learners and employees who completed corporate programs with certificates. As part of a post-course for e-Learning, Rachel designed and recommended the use of a reflective learning log; supplemented with feedback from the line manager, that should be attached to the performance review in order to provide recognition for behavioral changes on the job. Although the training was not mandatory, the results were above 100% target with 1082 modules completed in 2009-2010. By the end of the first year, the total number of employees using e-Learning had doubled in size.

The feedback from employees has been extremely positive; this has provided a motivational tool for employees who are grateful of the investment in their development, creating ‘positive perceptions of goodness’ about the company they work for. Many potential employees even enquire if development is provided for employees, making the employer proud to confirm that e-Learning is one of the learning tools available for them.

The 2nd year of e-Learning at Supreme Group has just started and an invitation has been sent to all employees to apply for membership. Potentially, the number of users could grow between 300 – 3000 employees. Rachel whole-heartedly testifies through personal experience that adding best practices, before, during and after implementation, will support a company embarking on an e-Learning program.

Undoubtedly, this will be another successful e-Learning year for Supreme. We wish Rachel all the best in her endeavors.

Connect with Rachel on LinkedIn or contact her at racheldouglas@mailme.ae

Xpert Learning hosts its first-ever 5@Ten session

Dubai, April 29, 2010. At its head office in Knowledge Village, Dubai, Xpert Learning held its first 5@Ten session, which brought together key professionals and executives within the Learning & Development arena, from high-profile companies across the Middle East. The objective of this initiative was to bring together thought-leaders within the industry in one room, on a roundtable, with an open agenda, allowing them to share anything they want to, on any topic, with or without any relation to learning or e-Learning. This first 5@Ten session was attended by the following key individuals:

• Patricio G. Porras (Chief Learning Officer, Axiom Telecom)
• Ali Zaheer (Training Officer, Emaar)
• DharamVeer Sood (Assistant Manager, Rivoli Group)
• Lara Gibbs (Training & Development Manager, FlyDubai)

The session was chaired by Paul Michael Gledhill, Director and Co-Founder of Xpert Learning, and facilitated by David Hastings, new e-Learning Account Manager at Xpert Learning.

Paul kicked off the session by introducing the attendees and laying out the purpose of the session. To break the ice, he started the discussion on an informal note by narrating a recent story of “extreme learning”.

Paul’s story led Patricio Porras to outline a few of his achievements, on a more formal note. Patricio talked about the induction process at Axiom Telecom. He mentioned that 80% of his time was invested in the induction process which turned out to be very successful. “Companies traditionally recruit when a position becomes vacant. This is a bad policy. Our new induction process aims to break this tradition. Once new recruits pass and get certified, what we do after the first 90 days of induction is my new focus at the moment”, said Patricio. “This is the year of people development!”, further added Patricio, who is currently hiring about 20 employees per month. His current induction cycle is: 1st and 2nd day, everyone attends a broad spectrum induction at head office, 3rd day in the market place, 4th and 5th day are sales, product knowledge, process. Quizzes and evaluations come after the 4th and 5th day, following which there is a department induction and then a personal induction.

Following Patricio’s account, Ali Zaheer picked up on the discussions by sharing with the audience how online assessments are conducted at Emaar. “These tests save costs and time”, declared Ali. Visibly a few steps ahead of everyone else, Ali explained that Emaar uses online video key messages from senior management to encourage staff to use the eLearning Portal. According to Ali, this scenario has been properly tried and tested and works well for Emaar. Ali went on further to explain that they have created online policy and procedures instead of paper using rapid conversion tools. With the addition of visuals and voice-overs, these have become more interactive and effective.

Lara Gibbs contributed to the discussion by asking about the problem of missing the personal touch during the induction process. This led to further discussions amongst the attendees.

On a slightly different note, DharamVeer Sood followed up by giving his account on how induction to e-Learning happens at Rivoli Group. “We made the learners at Rivoli aware of the financial implications involved in e-learning and they appreciated that the organization was investing in its people even during these times”, declared DharamVeer. According to him, e-Learning keeps people engaged. He attributes the success of the e-Learning initiative at Rivoli Group to the shortened induction period, pilot evaluations and giving people the flexibility to opt out if they do not want to participate. DharamVeer added that he monitors the progress of the learners by running reports regularly and setting the pass mark at a high score to ensure that the learners knew their materials.

After more than an hour of discussions and interactive engagement, Paul wrapped up the session.

Following this successful session, with microphone in hand and in a truly journalistic style, Nabeel Nazeer, Technical Consultant at Xpert Learning, requested for feedback from the attendees.

David Hastings, who recently joined Xpert Learning and was invited to facilitate the session, was very impressed by the multiple topics of discussions which arose within a session which had no agenda at all. “Having joined 5@Ten as part of my induction into the world of e-Learning, I would say that if I had any lingering doubt or anxiety about joining Xpert Learning, it was washed away by listening to the thoughts of major players in today's session,” said David. 

Lara Gibbs

As L&D professionals, often we spend our days, eyes and ears focused on the day- to-day of making training/learning & development happen without taking time out to develop ourselves – 5@Ten was a great opportunity for me to share best practices and learn from my peers in various industries - Thank you Xpert Learning for including me in this inaugural endeavor and for giving back as you always do, I look forward to participating in subsequent sessions.

Ali Zaheer

It’s a great initiative! No Doubt! I think that sessions like these will bring companies (who have implemented e-Learning solutions) closer and share their strategies. Great work Xpert Learning!

Patricio G. Porras

Thank you Xpert Learning. Really enjoyed the discussion and looking forward to the next invite.

Paul Michael Gledhill

I found the session very flowing, engaging and enjoyable. It was a breeze! I can’t wait to chair the next one.

We, at Xpert Learning, are now looking forward to the next 5@Ten session which will happen on the last Thursday of next month, 27th May 2010. Please contact us at info@xpertlearning.com or call +971 4 3910503 for more information if you want to be part of this interactive and fun-filled session.