Electric Paper on International Awards shortlist

Electric Paper, the Dublin-based international e-learning company with offices in Harrow, Middlesex, has reached the shortlist in the International Training Project of the Year, in the 2002 Institute of IT Training Awards. The Award winners are due to be announced at the Dorchester Hotel on 7th February 2002.

Electric Paper was shortlisted for its work in a joint campaign with Skillgate Pty Ltd involving the Department of Families in Queensland, Australia, which is intended to radically improve the IT skills of over 3,000 staff in Queensland’s Office of Child Care.

According to Electric Paper’s Alan Maguire: “Within the first few months, the campaign has brought about some highly impressive results. 77 per cent of those who have completed the programme now classify their computer skills as ‘intermediate’ and 23 per cent rate themselves as ‘beginners’, compared with 45 per cent who defined themselves as ‘completely computer illiterate’ before beginning the course. 100 per cent of those completing the post-course assessment returned a higher ‘IT skills’ score than at the beginning of the programme and the average increase in IT skills score per person is, currently, 22.86 per cent.”

Electric Paper has produced the programme’s learning materials on a multimedia CD-ROM, which is being distributed by Queensland’s Department of Families to its professional child care workers throughout the state. They are completing the programme at a pace, place and time to suit their particular lifestyles and work routines. This may include attendance at an office or learning resource centre, or working on the programme at home.

This latter option is particularly valuable for those living and working in the remote, ‘country’ districts of Queensland. Maguire continued: “There has never been a similar programme carried out in Australia – or anywhere else in the world, as far as all parties to this programme know. As such, the programme is highly innovative and leads the world in terms of providing IT skills training for professionals in the highly demanding and vitally important area of child care.”

Electric Paper and Skillgate are continuing to support this programme. Skillgate staff are providing an on-demand mentoring/coaching service for learners, as well as distributing the CD-ROMs on behalf of Queenland’s Department of Families.

Electric Paper is committed to the on-going updating of the learning materials to reflect developments in computer technology and software.

Electric Paper also began providing IT literacy skills training materials to some 1,000 people across New South Wales (NSW), Australia, recently, in a deal signed with the New South Wales Adult & Community Education Council (ACE). The project involves providing an IT literacy training program to some 40 ACE accredited organisations, which will deliver the training program at 54 sites throughout NSW. .

November 27th, 2001