Newsroom
London, UK – 13 July 2010: Online outplacement specialists MyWorkSearch has selected REDTRAY to deliver engaging and interactive e-learning content for the launch of its new online service. The new interactive content, e-learning and tools within MyWorkSearch provide jobseekers with the most up to date support and the re-designed layout allows for easy and intuitive navigation.
London, UK – 16 June 2010: REDTRAY continues to rise up the ranks in IT Training’s Top 50 IT Training companies 2010. REDTRAY leapt eight places in the league table, published in the Summer issue of the IT Training Magazine, researched and compiled by Pardo Fox Ltd.
London, UK – 27 May 2010: REDTRAY Ltd, one of Europe’s leading IT Training providers, today announces the renewal of its Gold Certified Partner status in the Microsoft Partner Program. Most notably, REDTRAY obtained Microsoft competency in Information Worker Solutions – Office Systems Deployment Specialisation; Small Business Specialist Community – Network Solutions Capability; and Learning Solutions. As a Gold Certified Partner, REDTRAY has demonstrated expertise with Microsoft technologies and a proven ability to meet customers’ needs.
American Express’ training and development manager shares top tips for e-learning success
London, UK – 25 May 2010: REDTRAY hosted the first in a series of Inspirations Days, designed to inspire optimal business transformation through people, last week. Attended by over fifty L&D Managers, Training Managers and Learning experts from all walks of industry, the event highlighted that one of greatest hurdles in the industry was driving staff and customers to complete learning activities.
London, UK – 20 May 2010: REDTRAY Ltd, one of Europe’s leading IT Training Outsourcing providers, launches ALTO v2.0, a new online portal that enables compliance managers to reduce the financial and regulatory compliance risk through comprehensive tracking and detailed reporting of training programmes. ALTO gives compliance managers an electronic training administrator to manage mandatory courses – it automates when personnel need to complete courses, sends out reminders and then monitors when users have successfully completed the training.
London, UK – 28 April 2010: A compliance roundtable hosted by IT Training Outsourcing provider REDTRAY, delivered a consensus from the attending compliance managers and directors that the number one thing they want from their businesses is for their company’s leaders to walk the walk when it comes to compliance. Event attendees in London on 21 April agreed that if company’s leaders don’t visibly support compliance, the work of chasing up and enforcing compliance becomes a frustrating and ultimately futile experience.
London, UK – 29 March 2010: REDTRAY Ltd one of Europe’s leading IT Training Outsourcing providers today announces the launch of ALTO v2.0, a new innovative online portal that can manage all aspects of training by automating and managing the administration, management, delivery and end user experience of blended learning programmes.
London, UK – 16 February 2010: REDTRAY Ltd, one of Europe’s leading IT Training Outsourcing providers has partnered with Magirus, a major IT Solutions Provider and VMware Authorised Training Centre to deliver the most compelling VMware training in today’s market. As a result of the partnership, Magirus’ highly qualified trainers will deliver a range of VMware courses in REDTRAY’s new state of the art training facilities in Haymarket, London.
London, UK – 1 February 2010: Viv Cole of REDTRAY Ltd chaired the Professional Services e–learning roundtable on 21 January 2010, hosted by Moore Stephens. Learning & Development (L&D) managers from the UK’s top law and accountancy firms attended to compare notes and discuss emerging trends.
REDTRAY attributes its 999% Revenue Growth to a combination of innovation, customer focus and robust project management (10/11/2009)
London, UK – 10 November 2009: REDTRAY, one of Europe’s leading Training Outsourcing providers, announces that it has been placed number 32 in the 2009 Deloitte Technology Fast 50, a ranking of the 50 fastest growing technology companies in the UK. Rankings are based on average percentage revenue growth over five years. REDTRAY grew 999% during this period.
London, UK – 12 October 2009: REDTRAY, one of Europe’s leading Training Outsourcing providers, has achieved Microsoft Gold Certified Partner status as a Learning Solutions/Data Management Solutions provider. In achieving Microsoft’s Gold certification, REDTRAY demonstrated its success in providing high quality learning solutions that support and extend its clients’ business goals as well as evidence of its exceptional skills and experience.
London, UK – 30 September 2009: REDTRAY, one of Europe's leading Training Outsourcing providers, has purchased the business of First Stop Training Ltd. The deal adds authorised Microsoft training provision to REDTRAY's expanding portfolio whilst enhancing First Stop Training's range of services that it delivers to clients. Terms of the deal are not disclosed.
London, UK – 11 September 2009: REDTRAY, one of Europe's leading Training Outsourcing providers, has become the technology partner to the Little House Company. With REDTRAY's technological expertise, the Little House Company will be able to fulfil its vision of becoming the number one private homes sales website.
London, UK, 10 July 2009 - REDTRAY, one of Europe’s leading Training Outsourcing providers, is strengthening its business development team with the appointment of Phil Horton as a Senior Account Manager.
London, UK – 23 June 2009: REDTRAY, one of Europe's leading Training Outsourcing providers, announces its sponsorship of the E-Learning Awards for the 4th consecutive year.
Business growth drives Ipanema to expand training provision (16/06/2009)
Chertsey, UK – 16 June 2009: Ipanema Technologies, a leader in integrated WAN Optimisation and Application Performance Management solutions, has selected Q6 Training to expand its global provision of technical training. Ipanema has increased its training delivery by 40% during the first half of 2009, compounding the 253% growth between 2004 and 2008. Q6, part of the REDTRAY Group, will enable Ipanema to continue to meet the training demands of its growing population of partners and customers from across Europe, the US, the Middle East and Asia.
London, UK, 12 May 2009: REDTRAY, the true blended learning company, has decided to support The Prince’s Trust by sponsoring the event ‘Kalrav – West meets East’. The event is presented by a team of CSC employees in partnership with IndianLife to raise funds in support of The Prince’s Trust. The event is organised on Saturday, the 27th June between 3pm - 9pm at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, 4a Castletown Road, West Kensington London.
London, UK — 16 February 2009: REDTRAY, the true blended learning company, has expanded its e-learning capabilities through a merger with Academy Internet, the custom e-learning division of AI Digital Ltd based in Brighton. Terms of the deal are not disclosed.
London, UK — 8 January 2009: Q6 the UK based Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise Training Centre moved to Chertsey, Surrey UK, to provide better facilities for Enterprise Training to Business Partners and End Users for Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise Solutions Training.
London, UK — 4 December 2008: REDTRAY, the true blended learning company, has risen to 16th position in the Sunday Times Microsoft Tech Track 100 from 23rd in 2007. An expanding client base and an aggressive sales drive have boosted sales 117% a year from £759,000 in 2004 to £7.7m in 2007.
The annual award which is supported by First DataBank Europe was set up to encourage, support and promote information technology initiatives and best practice in the use of IT in pharmacy. The judges were particularly impressed with the ability of the package to deliver training appropriate to the individual user regardless of their knowledge level and staff group.
Kerry had been running the trust’s medicines management training for 18 months but needed a new way to do things. “The traditional face-to-face staff training across 10 sites required a considerable amount of travelling for both me and delegates. In addition, time constraints often meant that sessions were reduced to just 30 minutes with no time to assess delegates’ knowledge. It was also difficult to deliver a programme that was relevant to people in different roles.”
Kerry identified that e-learning was the way forward and worked with REDTRAY to develop the new system. “I provided the material and discussed ideas for how this could work with REDTRAY and they developed the e-learning package. I’m really pleased with the product, I think it's excellent.
“The best thing is that the e-learning can accommodate a wide range of participants from doctors and healthcare assistants through to nurses and porters,” confirms Kerry. “It helps the user to identify those modules that are appropriate for them and they will only be assessed on these modules at the end of the programme.”
Kerry worked with colleagues across the Trust to get the e-learning package in place, including trialling it and finally rolling it out across Northumbria Healthcare’s 10 sites. To date, over 700 staff have taken part and their feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, with many impressed that it was relevant to their job, they could complete it at their own hospital base and at a convenient time.
Kerry adds: “I am delighted to receive this award which reflects the hard work we have done to get the project off the ground and I am equally delighted that it has been so well received by staff. The award recognition has also brought greater support and funding, so the next step is to update it with further content and new features based on user feedback.
“It’s been a highly valuable project for the Trust. It has saved a considerable amount of travelling time but most importantly, it has delivered a higher quality of training with the ability to undertake assessments of user understanding. I can now spend more time providing practical support training to those groups that have a identified a need for more input.”
London, UK — 27 November 2008: REDTRAY today announced that it ranked number 69th on the Deloitte Technology Fast 500 EMEA 2008, a ranking of the 500 fastest growing technology companies in EMEA. Rankings are based on percentage revenue growth over five years. REDTRAY grew 2056 percent during this period.
The annual award which is supported by First DataBank Europe was set up to encourage, support and promote information technology initiatives and best practice in the use of IT in pharmacy. The judges were particularly impressed with the ability of the package to deliver training appropriate to the individual user regardless of their knowledge level and staff group.
Kerry had been running the trust’s medicines management training for 18 months but needed a new way to do things. “The traditional face-to-face staff training across 10 sites required a considerable amount of travelling for both me and delegates. In addition, time constraints often meant that sessions were reduced to just 30 minutes with no time to assess delegates’ knowledge. It was also difficult to deliver a programme that was relevant to people in different roles.”
Kerry identified that e-learning was the way forward and worked with REDTRAY to develop the new system. “I provided the material and discussed ideas for how this could work with REDTRAY and they developed the e-learning package. I’m really pleased with the product, I think it's excellent.
“The best thing is that the e-learning can accommodate a wide range of participants from doctors and healthcare assistants through to nurses and porters,” confirms Kerry. “It helps the user to identify those modules that are appropriate for them and they will only be assessed on these modules at the end of the programme.”
Kerry worked with colleagues across the Trust to get the e-learning package in place, including trialling it and finally rolling it out across Northumbria Healthcare’s 10 sites. To date, over 700 staff have taken part and their feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, with many impressed that it was relevant to their job, they could complete it at their own hospital base and at a convenient time.
Kerry adds: “I am delighted to receive this award which reflects the hard work we have done to get the project off the ground and I am equally delighted that it has been so well received by staff. The award recognition has also brought greater support and funding, so the next step is to update it with further content and new features based on user feedback.
“It’s been a highly valuable project for the Trust. It has saved a considerable amount of travelling time but most importantly, it has delivered a higher quality of training with the ability to undertake assessments of user understanding. I can now spend more time providing practical support training to those groups that have a identified a need for more input.”
London, UK — 28 October 2008: REDTRAY, the true blended learning company, has achieved 12th place in Deloitte’s 2008 Fast 50 ranking of the UK’s fastest-growing technology companies. The position is based on sustained revenue growth over the past five years.
The annual award which is supported by First DataBank Europe was set up to encourage, support and promote information technology initiatives and best practice in the use of IT in pharmacy. The judges were particularly impressed with the ability of the package to deliver training appropriate to the individual user regardless of their knowledge level and staff group.
Kerry had been running the trust’s medicines management training for 18 months but needed a new way to do things. “The traditional face-to-face staff training across 10 sites required a considerable amount of travelling for both me and delegates. In addition, time constraints often meant that sessions were reduced to just 30 minutes with no time to assess delegates’ knowledge. It was also difficult to deliver a programme that was relevant to people in different roles.”
Kerry identified that e-learning was the way forward and worked with REDTRAY to develop the new system. “I provided the material and discussed ideas for how this could work with REDTRAY and they developed the e-learning package. I’m really pleased with the product, I think it's excellent.
“The best thing is that the e-learning can accommodate a wide range of participants from doctors and healthcare assistants through to nurses and porters,” confirms Kerry. “It helps the user to identify those modules that are appropriate for them and they will only be assessed on these modules at the end of the programme.”
Kerry worked with colleagues across the Trust to get the e-learning package in place, including trialling it and finally rolling it out across Northumbria Healthcare’s 10 sites. To date, over 700 staff have taken part and their feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, with many impressed that it was relevant to their job, they could complete it at their own hospital base and at a convenient time.
Kerry adds: “I am delighted to receive this award which reflects the hard work we have done to get the project off the ground and I am equally delighted that it has been so well received by staff. The award recognition has also brought greater support and funding, so the next step is to update it with further content and new features based on user feedback.
“It’s been a highly valuable project for the Trust. It has saved a considerable amount of travelling time but most importantly, it has delivered a higher quality of training with the ability to undertake assessments of user understanding. I can now spend more time providing practical support training to those groups that have a identified a need for more input.”
Q6 first to offer CompTIA Convergence+ in the UK
London, UK —16 September 2008: Global IT trade association CompTIA has announced that training provider Q6, part of the REDTRAY group, has become the first to offer its Convergence+ certification – one of the UK’s only industry-approved qualifications on converging technologies. Q6’s long-standing success working with the IT channel means that the reseller community is expected to be the first to start taking the new course which is available now.
The annual award which is supported by First DataBank Europe was set up to encourage, support and promote information technology initiatives and best practice in the use of IT in pharmacy. The judges were particularly impressed with the ability of the package to deliver training appropriate to the individual user regardless of their knowledge level and staff group.
Kerry had been running the trust’s medicines management training for 18 months but needed a new way to do things. “The traditional face-to-face staff training across 10 sites required a considerable amount of travelling for both me and delegates. In addition, time constraints often meant that sessions were reduced to just 30 minutes with no time to assess delegates’ knowledge. It was also difficult to deliver a programme that was relevant to people in different roles.”
Kerry identified that e-learning was the way forward and worked with REDTRAY to develop the new system. “I provided the material and discussed ideas for how this could work with REDTRAY and they developed the e-learning package. I’m really pleased with the product, I think it's excellent.
“The best thing is that the e-learning can accommodate a wide range of participants from doctors and healthcare assistants through to nurses and porters,” confirms Kerry. “It helps the user to identify those modules that are appropriate for them and they will only be assessed on these modules at the end of the programme.”
Kerry worked with colleagues across the Trust to get the e-learning package in place, including trialling it and finally rolling it out across Northumbria Healthcare’s 10 sites. To date, over 700 staff have taken part and their feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, with many impressed that it was relevant to their job, they could complete it at their own hospital base and at a convenient time.
Kerry adds: “I am delighted to receive this award which reflects the hard work we have done to get the project off the ground and I am equally delighted that it has been so well received by staff. The award recognition has also brought greater support and funding, so the next step is to update it with further content and new features based on user feedback.
“It’s been a highly valuable project for the Trust. It has saved a considerable amount of travelling time but most importantly, it has delivered a higher quality of training with the ability to undertake assessments of user understanding. I can now spend more time providing practical support training to those groups that have a identified a need for more input.”
North Tyneside nurse scoops top national award for developing an innovative method of delivering mandatory training to NHS staff
London, UK — 17 July 2008: - Kerry Watts, lead nurse for medicines management at Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, has won a Guild of Healthcare Pharmacists IT Award. The winning e-learning package, developed by blended learning specialist REDTRAY, delivers mandatory medicines management training.
The annual award which is supported by First DataBank Europe was set up to encourage, support and promote information technology initiatives and best practice in the use of IT in pharmacy. The judges were particularly impressed with the ability of the package to deliver training appropriate to the individual user regardless of their knowledge level and staff group.
Kerry had been running the trust’s medicines management training for 18 months but needed a new way to do things. “The traditional face-to-face staff training across 10 sites required a considerable amount of travelling for both me and delegates. In addition, time constraints often meant that sessions were reduced to just 30 minutes with no time to assess delegates’ knowledge. It was also difficult to deliver a programme that was relevant to people in different roles.”
Kerry identified that e-learning was the way forward and worked with REDTRAY to develop the new system. “I provided the material and discussed ideas for how this could work with REDTRAY and they developed the e-learning package. I’m really pleased with the product, I think it's excellent.
“The best thing is that the e-learning can accommodate a wide range of participants from doctors and healthcare assistants through to nurses and porters,” confirms Kerry. “It helps the user to identify those modules that are appropriate for them and they will only be assessed on these modules at the end of the programme.”
Kerry worked with colleagues across the Trust to get the e-learning package in place, including trialling it and finally rolling it out across Northumbria Healthcare’s 10 sites. To date, over 700 staff have taken part and their feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, with many impressed that it was relevant to their job, they could complete it at their own hospital base and at a convenient time.
Kerry adds: “I am delighted to receive this award which reflects the hard work we have done to get the project off the ground and I am equally delighted that it has been so well received by staff. The award recognition has also brought greater support and funding, so the next step is to update it with further content and new features based on user feedback.
“It’s been a highly valuable project for the Trust. It has saved a considerable amount of travelling time but most importantly, it has delivered a higher quality of training with the ability to undertake assessments of user understanding. I can now spend more time providing practical support training to those groups that have a identified a need for more input.”
REDTRAY, the true blended learning company, has jumped two places in the UK’s top 50 IT Training Companies to 28th position with revenues in IT training of £4.4 million in its 2007 financial year. IT training represents just under half of REDTRAY’s revenues alongside its provision of learning solutions for areas such as professional development, compliance and, health and safety.
Jon Shepstone, Managing Director of REDTRAY’s Training Division, says, “Our revenue growth in our IT Training Division has been underpinned by a growing list of agreements both with public and private sector organisations and the more recent expansion into the Telecommunications and WAN optimisation markets.” The IT Training Division now represents 50% of the total revenue of REDTRAY, within just 3 years of being established.
He adds, “We are continuing to expand our portfolio of learning solutions for our IT Training customers, blending solutions with the e-learning division using rapid e-Learning, serious gaming and performance simulations — approaches that will deliver more cost–effective and creative solutions for our customers. This is what excites us as an organisation and will underpin our growth through 2008 and beyond.”
REDTRAY is able to reduce conventional training costs by up to 60% against traditional training methods without any loss of quality or effectiveness.
The top 50 training companies based on revenue was compiled by Pardo Fox/IT Skills Research. The full listing can be found at http://www.bcs.org/upload/pdf/top-50-training.pdf
London, ENGLAND, 19 June 2008: - In a unique collaboration, seven NHS Trusts across the South East of England have developed new e-learning programmes based on the specific needs of Mental Health care. With content designed by blended learning specialists REDTRAY, the e-learning courses will enable each participating trust to provide training in key areas of healthcare.
Three separate e-learning courses are now available: Managing Risk, Delivering CPA and Delivering Equality. The topics are aimed at all relevant Mental Health staff across the trusts (with a total of 16,000 potential users) and will give learners the opportunity to acquire knowledge and enhance skills within a Mental Health context. In addition, the e-learning has been developed so that individual trust logos can be added, or specific data customised within templates to better reflect local needs such as contact numbers or reference to local trust policies.
Mark Limber, Project Manager representing the seven SE Mental Health Trusts says, "We need to give staff access to a range of modular mental health learning materials but with a maximum saving on training time and minimum impact on their daily business of providing safe and therapeutic care to service users. E-learning is the ideal platform.
"After an open market tender, REDTRAY was selected as being the best supplier with its considerable track record in the health service," continues Mark. "REDTRAY has taken a lead role on the design work and has shaped much of the content, over and above what we'd have expected them to do. They've created an exceptional e-learning product during this very successful partnership."
REDTRAY has used industry best-practice to ensure that the e-learning is easy to use and is based on the needs of the learners. Through 'bite-size' learning sessions that are highly interactive, the e-learning programme covers the following modules:
- Managing Risk embraces the various applications of risk management within healthcare, including business, clinical and employment related (health and safety) issues. It is intended to address knowledge rather than skill acquisition.
- Delivering CPA is aimed at individuals who have direct user contact and therefore should be involved in contributing to the CPA process. The aim is to develop knowledge and skills about the process and principles of the CPA. This course aims to help individuals to understand the structures of the CPA framework and empower them to be part of the process of recovery with service users.
- Delivering Equality is intended for all members of the workforce both medical and non-medical. The learning programme considers the needs of staff working in corporate functions such as finance, communications, human resources, estates and the needs of clerical and managerial staff.
E-learning is new to the Surrey and Boarders Partnership NHS Trust. Nicola Carter, the Trust's Learning and Development Coordinator found that working with the other trusts was "extremely rewarding". Nicola discovered that sharing ideas, not just about the e-learning, has been a key benefit of the collaboration.
Nicola adds: "It's very rare to find mental health specific e-learning, so this initiative is particularly valuable. REDTRAY has listened to what we wanted and has created an excellent product. It is clear and comprehensive and the assessments are concise and simple to use. I hope it will be extremely useful for our 3,850 staff across 134 different trust sites. And I'm particularly keen to get the training to people who usually miss traditional classroom sessions such as part-time workers and night-staff."
The e-learning project represents the beginning of a formal partnership of mental health trusts in the SE of England. It is hoped that further collaborative work will be undertaken within this structure and that it can be expanded to encompass other organisations across the country. By working together, the participating trusts will realise benefits of shared best practice, reduced costs and more effective delivery of learning.
So far, the project has delivered huge economies of scale through shared procurement and wide access to digital resources and information systems, combined with quality through shared tools and resources, and common standards of design and effectiveness.
About the South East Mental Health CEO Group
The business case for this project was developed by the South East Mental Health CEO Group and was submitted to CSIP SE where it was approved by the mental health programme board. 'The Group' consist of the following trusts:
- Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
- Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
- Hampshire Partnership NHS Trust
- Isle of Wight Mental Health Service Trust
- Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust
- Sussex Partnership NHS Trust
- Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust
REDTRAY, the true blended learning company, is ranked in the top ten of Media Momentum’s 2008 list of the UK’s 50 fastest growing digital media companies.
REDTRAY’s 599 percent growth between 2004/5 and 2006/7 enabled the company to step in at 8th position compared to 9th in 2007. In total, the top 50 companies in the 2008 list grew their revenue base from £185m to a staggering £587m in a two year period.
Mike Ditchburn, Managing Director of REDTRAY’s e–Learning Division, comments, “REDTRAY continues to grow from strength to strength. In tandem with our customers’ demand for digital media, we’re seeing a corresponding increase in understanding that the right tools must be used in the right context. This means making use of all the latest technologies to harness an organisations’ wealth of knowledge and to ensure work-based learning delivers real business benefits.”
Software services company Bytes Technology Group has signed a 3-year agreement with blended learning specialists REDTRAY, giving both organisations the opportunity to work together to deliver a suite of compelling services to their customers. The deal has an estimated revenue value of £2m which will be generated from e-learning content development, Learning and Knowledge Management and associated consultancy.
As one of the UK's largest Microsoft and Xerox resellers, Bytes has established relationship with an extensive list of blue chip and public sector customers. Through the agreement with REDTRAY, Bytes will offer a range of additional high value services to its customers. Bytes will draw on REDTRAY's breadth and depth of e-Learning experience to supplement an already thriving training business, broadening its client engagements and delivering more value to them.
Bob Woodland, CEO of REDTRAY says: "We've been working informally with Bytes for over a year and the venture has been highly successful for us both and for our customers. Bytes and REDTRAY are like-minded organisations and our services are very complimentary. We will continue to offer our expertise and knowledge management and learning platforms to the benefit of Bytes' customers."
Darren Spence, Group Marketing Director at Bytes Technology adds: "We're very excited by the partnership with REDTRAY and the value we can deliver to our customers. REDTRAY has a clear strategy to be the best e-Learning organisation in the UK shown through its business acquisitions and the calibre of its people. The partnership will ensure that as Bytes delivers world-leading software solutions, we can offer the highest calibre of training to ensure a successful implementation."
REDTRAY's innovative 'Financial Management' blended learning programme for the HM Treasury has been short-listed for an E-Learning Award. The nomination is in the category of 'Meeting the needs of compliance for an external regulator or an internal workforce'. Winners will be announced at a ceremony on 8th November 2007 at the Park Lane Hotel in Piccadilly, London.
Bob Woodland, CEO of REDTRAY says, "Our work with the HM Treasury has been a tremendous success and I'm delighted that the programme has been nominated for an e-Learning Award. These awards are an important part of promoting the growing success of the e-Learning industry. It recognises best practice and excellence in a rapidly maturing market and demonstrates how companies can measure the economic benefits of high quality e-Learning activities."
The submission from REDTRAY shows how an effective and stimulating blended learning programme on the topic of Core Financial Management Skills has achieved compliance, using the Department for Transport (DfT) as an example. The programme was spearheaded by the Head of the Government Finance Profession (part of HM Treasury) and the DfT used a highly successful top-down approach to inspire Senior Civil Servants to voluntarily undertake the training.
REDTRAY, the true blended learning company, achieved 23rd position in the Sunday Times Microsoft Tech Track 100 published on Sunday 30 September. REDTRAY's sales soared to 164% a year from £759,000 in 2004 to £5.3m in 2006.
Bob Woodland, CEO of REDTRAY says, "This is a major accomplishment. We came 23rd this year but most notably, we were the best performer of last year's top 10. I am particularly proud of our team. They have achieved exceptional growth while maintaining such high standards of Client service."
Jon Moulton of Alchemy Partners was an early stage investor in REDTRAY with £600,000. Founded in 2001 by a team that includes chief executive Bob Woodland, REDTRAY provides online training programmes for clients that include BAE Systems, Orange and CSC Computer Science Corporation. Based in Surrey, the company also delivers bespoke instructor-led courses at customers' own offices. Acquiring its competitor Bourne Training and entering a partnership with Skillsoft last year have opened the door to new clients.
Now in its seventh year, the annual Sunday Times Microsoft Tech Track 100 league table ranks Britain's one hundred fastest-growing private technology companies by their sales growth over a two-year period. The full findings were published in The Sunday Times business section on 30 September and on the internet at www.fasttrack.co.uk.
ALTO, REDTRAY's Learning Management System (LMS) for fully hosted and managed blended learning, has achieved SCORM Certification by the Advanced Distributed Learning (ADL) Network.
The certification demonstrates that ALTO conforms to the rigorous set of capabilities and behaviours of SCORM 1.2 - one of the primary standard interfaces for web based content and web based learning management systems. Currently, ADL has certified a total of 218 products across the globe.
Bob Woodland, CEO of REDTRAY says, "This important certification will give our customers added confidence that ALTO adheres to the leading standards in the e-Learning market. Customers that specify that their course materials are SCORM 1.2 compliant can be sure that it will be managed effectively by ALTO."
"Using the SCORM interfaces, ALTO can uniformly track the progress of learners on the system. It will record how users interact with course material and provide detailed reports on those interactions. This is vital information for demonstrating a clear return on investment when implementing e-Learning as part of a blended learning project."
Since it was introduced as a complete web-based system in early 2006, REDTRAY has ensured that ALTO can be tailored to customers' specific requirements. ALTO is an integrated suite of tools that provides e-learning, online presentations, instructor-led administration and document management. With ALTO, customers can create, deploy and manage enterprise blended learning solutions and then measure their spend, their progress and their success using a rich selection of highly flexible and customisable reporting tools.
REDTRAY marks ALTO's first year of success as an LMS delivering a fully hosted and managed blended learning solution with a range of new enhancements.
ALTO is a powerful system that enables customers to create, deploy and manage enterprise blended learning solutions. When it was introduced as a complete web-based system in early 2006, REDTRAY ensured that ALTO operated as an integrated suite of tools to cover e-Learning, online presentations, instructor-led administration and document management.
Amongst ALTO's new features is an enhanced course builder tool. Using a template approach, clients can create effective learning content as well as incorporate a range of interactions to reinforce learning and test understanding. REDTRAY has also enhanced its rapid e-Learning capabilities so clients can develop e-Learning content from PowerPoint presentations for deployment to users in a matter of hours.
Since its launch, ALTO has become the platform of choice for many of REDTRAY's largest clients:
- A world leading audit, tax, consulting, and financial advisory services firm uses ALTO for compliance
- ALTO is used as an LMS to distribute a catalogue of Thomson NETg courses for a national UK food distribution company
- A major research organisation uses ALTO for pre and post course evaluation
- The HR department of a national UK TV station uses ALTO for new employee inductions
- A national sports body uses ALTO to host an online community for sharing news about players, fixtures, etc.
Bob Woodland, CEO of REDTRAY says, "ALTO has been a huge success. It's a unique system that enables us to deliver on our vision on providing the perfect blend of learning to our clients. Whilst helping to deliver the right content to the right people, ALTO also provides the essential reporting facilities that our clients demand. It enables them to demonstrate the value that training adds to their organisation through rigorous and customisable reporting."
ALTO is a fully hosted solution that is SCORM and AICC compliant enabling clients to deploy any e-Learning content which adheres to these standards. Based on a learner centric approach using workgroups, ALTO allows department heads and managers to become an integral part of an organisation's learning and development community.
Bourne has recently started work with East Sussex County Council to develop a suite of bespoke e-Learning courses across a range of human resource areas. The contract is to develop a new Corporate Induction course as well as courses on Equality and Diversity, Recruitment and Selection, and Standards of Behaviour.
The courses, which will be delivered through the East Sussex County Council Intranet, will be rolled out to all Council staff from the second quarter of 2007. They will be supported by a dedicated Student Management System which will record user data and assessment scores.
Mike Ditchburn, Managing Director, Bourne Training commented "We are delighted to have extended our relationship with East Sussex County Council through this new contract. We have established a cost-effective bespoke e-Learning model with them that provides an extensive portfolio of courses - these suit their corporate style and deliver essential training in key human resource subjects."
The four new courses will add to the existing East Sussex County Council courses on Internet Security and Performance Management. Click here to read the case study on the Performance Management course.
Bourne has today announced a merger with REDTRAY, the leading blended learning company.
Mike Ditchburn, Managing Director at Bourne Training commented, "We are delighted to announce this merger which marks a momentous milestone in the continued development of Bourne Training. REDTRAY have pre-eminent blended learning capabilities with a wide range of training services and rapid development processes."
He added, "we have worked hard to establish our market position as a leading provider of high quality bespoke solutions and the strategic fit with REDTRAY will enable us to offer a much broader blended portfolio. We will also benefit from their considerable technical and development capabilities and look forward to working with them to become part of one of the UK's fastest growing companies in this sector."
Bob Woodland, CEO of REDTRAY was equally delighted with the merger. "Bourne is a highly professional company with a long and successful heritage in our industry. Through this merger, we gain an experienced team with valuable knowledge, project management skills and educational design capabilities."
Bourne Training will continue to trade independently under the Bourne brand for the foreseeable future.
Click here to go to the REDTRAY website.
A course developed by Bourne in 2004 has recently been included as part of a nomination for an Excellence Award at East Sussex County Council. The Performance Improvement course has been included as an example of how East Sussex is harnessing staff potential and helping the Council achieve their targets.
The nomination states that the training programme demonstrates excellence in learning and getting the best out of people on several fronts: the excellent design of the e-learning, the involvement and support of staff across the council in the development of the programme and the extent to which the programme has become embedded over an 18 month period.
The course illustrated measurable outcomes and the results speak for themselves:
- Over 850 users completed the course within 6 months of the launch; by August 2006 this increased to 1112;
- 779 achieved 80% or more (only 28 users scored less than the 70% passmark) on the assessment test;
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Evaluation in the first 18 months reported excellent feedback:
- 88% of respondents agreed the e-learning helped them understand how they help to achieve the Council's priorities.
- 90% of respondents agreed the e-learning helped them understand what is expected of me and what I can expect from my manager.
- 94% of respondents agreed the e-learning is easy to use.
- 83% of respondents agreed the e-learning design is engaging.
- 82% of respondents said they would recommend the training to their colleagues.
Click here to read a case study on the East Sussex County Council Performance Improvement course.
Bourne has recently been invited to contribute a Tech Trends feature in Training Journal to share our expertise in making e-Learning accessible. The feature, written by Managing Director Mike Ditchburn, investigates the impact of the Disability Discrimination Act on e-Learning.
The article highlights the issues in making e-Learning accessible and then provides an indication of how e-Learning can be developed so it's both useable and accessible. It argues that we must stop 'burying our heads in the sand' and thinking that the DDA doesn't apply to us and concludes by quoting Tim Berners-Lee, one of the acknowledged founders of the web; "The power of the web is in its universality. Access by everyone regardless of disability is an essential aspect." As always, accessibility is a matter of degree, but how long will it be before we appreciate that ignorance is no longer a defence?
Click here to read the full Accessibility in e-Learning article.
e-Learning will no longer be a term used in the future because by 2012 it will not even exist, claims learning consultancy Kineo during a recent presentation to the eLearning Network.
Kineo states that, although we spend up to eight hours a day working on our computers we don't call it e-working, so why use the term e-Learning? They argue that we need to move away from viewing e-Learning as a discrete task, and see it as what it is: something that we just do on a day-to-day basis without differentiating it from the rest of our activities.
They went on to explain that if e-Learning is to have a permanent place in the future it needs to be based on the appropriate technology. Controversially, they added that the focus must be on sustainable technologies and argued that wikis and blogs will not be sustained in the future.
Following the recent launch of its Environment Awareness web-based training package, EUROCONTROL, the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation, has asked Bourne Training to help them define the content of a new advanced workshop focusing on the environmental impact of aviation.
The Environment Awareness web-based training package provides air traffic management personnel with information and education on the environmental issues facing aviation and air traffic management. While aviation provides substantial economic and social benefits, a balance needs to be found to enable efficient and sustainable growth of the industry. The web-based course focuses on helping operational staff develop a good understanding of the general issues associated with the environment and the day-to-day actions they can take to effect improvements.
As a key objective for EUROCONTROL, the new advanced workshop is aimed at a more technical level and is likely to last for 3-5 days. It is intended to provide a broader depth of knowledge for air traffic management personnel and discuss specific actions they can take to support sustainability.
"Being involved in specifying the advanced workshop is a unique opportunity to support EUROCONTROL to achieve their challenging education objectives," commented Mike Ditchburn, Managing Director at Bourne Training. "We expect to facilitate an event with key personnel from air traffic agencies and airports throughout Europe. Within this we'll discuss their training needs and how they think EUROCONTROL can help educate their teams in this critical area."
The workshop specification will be completed during the fourth quarter of the year with the training needs events scheduled for October 2006.
The IT Training market in the UK continued to recover in 2005, posting a healthy growth of 9% over 2004, according to data from IT Skills Research. But behind this figure lies a fundamental shift in what customers want and expect from their suppliers.
Five years ago, the major requirement was for technical training aimed at IT professionals, which made up perhaps as much as 80% of the market. Now IT user training takes up a much bigger slice, and the main growth for area for IT staff has been in professional and soft skills.
In the e-Learning arena, long standard courses are no longer seen as the answer, with short on-demand modules becoming the order of the day. What some commentators are calling the 'Google effect' means that users want quick answers to their difficulties as and when they encounter them.
In a comprehensive survey of 1,000 organisations conducted by e-skills UK, 19% of respondents expected to increase IT training spend in 2006, with only 3% foreseeing a decrease. IT Skills Research's measure of confidence amongst training suppliers also reports growing revenues and profits for the first quarter of 2006.
Source: IT Skills Research www.train-net.co.uk
Bourne has been recognised again for a top industry award, this time being short-listed in partnership with the University for Industry for the Training Journal award 'Best Externally Developed and Delivered Programme'.
The nomination is for our ground-breaking IT for Life programme through which more than 39,000 learners have enrolled on courses since their launch in January 2005.
Click here to read a case study on the IT for Life courses
Bourne has won the contract from University for Industry (Ufi), who are responsible for the operation of learndirect, to develop part of the second phase of a new range of IT skills courses within the 'IT for Life' and 'IT for Work' portfolios.
The contract is to develop four new courses; 'Presentations' and 'Databases' at Level 1, and' Internets and Intranets' and 'E-mail' at Level 2. It is scheduled for completion by Autumn 2006 and will create sixty hours of bespoke IT skills learning.
Kirsty Donnelly, Director of Products and Services at Ufi, said: "This new contract builds on the existing highly successful 'IT for Life' courses which Bourne has developed with us over the last two years. We have a strategic target to helping learners achieve a Level 2 vocational qualification and, as part of this, it is important to provide a platform at Level 1 for learners who do not have the IT skills to directly enrol in a Level 2 course. The 'IT for Life' and 'IT for Work' portfolios are critical in helping us achieve this."
Since launching the existing 'IT for Life' portfolio in January 2005, more than 29,000 learners have enrolled on around 39,000 courses. The new courses will extend the opportunity for learners to gain IT skills and to achieve the IT Skills Council's Information Technology Qualification (ITQ), which focuses on developing work-based IT skills.
The new courses follow the success of the initial six courses and share their unique four-stage approach to delivering IT skills. This involves interactive demonstrations, reinforcement exercises, summative assessment and, critically, the opportunity for learners to consolidate their knowledge through activities in the live application. learndirect tutors are involved at key stages to review the course outputs and facilitate discussions on the learner's progress.
Mike Ditchburn, Managing Director, Bourne Training commented "We are delighted to have extended our relationship with Ufi through this new contract. The model we have implemented for the 'IT for Life' portfolio has been more successful than we could have hoped for in a critical area for UK plc. This is testament to the foresight of Ufi in addressing a critical need in such a creative way, and the continued commitment of the team at Bourne to deliver high quality learning materials in often challenging timescales."
Bourne has completed the development of a prestigious programme for EUROCONTROL (the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation) to help educate air traffic staff and the general public about the impact of aviation on the environment.
With research suggesting that world aircraft fleet will double by 2020, the on-line training programme has been produced to outline the key environmental issues and explain how the growth of aviation can be sustained without adversely affecting the environment.
The Aviation and The Environment Programme, the first of its kind, has been launched to air traffic control staff through Europe. It addresses the complex issues of economic, social and environmental sustainability and investigates specifically how air traffic operational practices can contribute to sustaining the environment whilst meeting the diverse needs of aviation stakeholders.
"Environmental issues such as noise and emissions are of increasing global concern. Air traffic management does not have the solution but we do have a role to play in mitigating the environmental impacts of aviation," said Mr Bo Redeborn, Director ATM Strategies of EUROCONTROL. "The Environmental Awareness e-Learning programme is designed to give all operational staff a good understanding of general issues associated with environment and aviation, as well as indications of what actions they can take in their daily work to help mitigate the impact of aviation on the environment."
Mike Ditchburn, Managing Director, Bourne Training commented, "Having won a pan-European tender to develop the programme, we are delighted with the outcome in what is a key objective for EUROCONTROL, given the likely increase in European air traffic and the associated environmental impact. The important aspect now is to monitor learners through the programme to identify its impact on air traffic operations."
As well as being available to air traffic control staff, the programme is also available to members of the public so they can better understand the environmental issues relating to the aviation industry. EUROCONTROL now intend to develop more advanced aviation and the environment courses as part of their ongoing environment sustainability commitment.
Mike Ditchburn, Managing Director at Bourne Training, has been appointed to the British Learning Association Quality Forum. The Forum has a key role to play in directing the effective operation of the BLA's prestigious Quality Mark Scheme and safeguarding its integrity.
"It's a privilege to work with the British Learning Association in such an important area," Ditchburn commented. "Quality in e-Learning is an area that I am passionate about and I'm very pleased to have the opportunity to contribute the experience I have gained at Bourne to the wider e-Learning community."
Click here to find out more about the Quality Forum.
In collaboration with Star Refrigeration, Bourne has completed the development of the prototype Star e-Learning portal. Star, the largest independent refrigeration engineering company in the UK, operates a 'centre of excellence' for their engineers and has identified an opportunity to share this expertise through developing a suite of e-Learning modules covering induction, general knowledge and skills training.
The aim of the prototype is to test the market and obtain qualitative feedback to develop the product further. Star has already undertaken extensive research and this has driven the design and functionality of the prototype which incorporates a learning portal, an underlying learning management system and an initial module on The Vapour Compression Cycle.
Commenting on the partnership with Star, Managing Director Mike Ditchburn explained "We are delighted to be working with Star on this groundbreaking project - the partnership is a strong combination of their unrivalled knowledge in refrigeration engineering and our e-Learning expertise. It is important that we use the marketplace to drive further developments and the next few months will be an exciting time as new modules and learning environments are created."
Whilst learning professionals are asserting their claim that learning and development must be strategically aligned with the business - and company bosses are still claiming that 'people are our greatest asset' - learning as a function is still in an embryonic stage, emerging slowly into its own unique shape.
That's view from the inaugural Learning & Development Learning by Numbers Survey, published in February 2006.
Learning and development needs to act now to get its house in order - or risk someone else taking control for good.
When costs are cut it's still the training budget that suffers. Just under a third of respondents estimate that the spend per head on training is between £101 and £250, with a quarter putting it at £251 - £500. Less than 10% are spending more than £1,000 per employee. However, over 30% of respondents come from organisations with 1,000 plus staff. This could suggest that larger employers are discovering the real benefits from economies of scale, buying training services in bulk and using their size to negotiate better deals. Costs may also have been reduced by employers bring more training in-house.
And even though budgets are on the smaller side, L&D professionals are feeling upbeat - they believe increased spending is likely across the board in the next year, apart from on managed training services. When it comes to delivery channels, again there is a positive feel - only mobile learning seems likely to suffer a decrease in the year ahead. The delivery methods most likely to see extra funds painted a fascinating picture: very tailored one-on-one coaching, alongside e-Learning. The emphasis on trainer training is also reassuring, suggesting a desire for a greater control over quality of the training received.
Overall, there's both good news and bad here, but as all learning professionals will appreciate, such information can be used to develop a focused strategy going forward. Perhaps next year, the sector will have gained a little more knowledge about its identity.
Source: Learning & Development (Haynet)
Stephen Miller has joined the senior management team at Bourne as Operations Manager. Having previously held management roles at Plato Learning UK Ltd, TRO Learning, Vega, Xebec Mcgraw-Hill and ACT Learning he is excited by the opportunity at Bourne. "I am delighted to be working at Bourne and contributing to the development of their market-leading e-Learning products. My experience will bring a different perspective and I'm looking forward to working with the very strong team there."
Stephen has over 20 years experience in developing learning materials in the UK and overseas. He has a degree in English and Philosophy from Keele University, completed a PGCE from Sheffield University and became involved with technology-based training under a programme with Control Data in 1988.
Commenting on the appointment, Managing Director Mike Ditchburn enthused "The Board are delighted to welcome Stephen to the team and see this as another positive step in helping us establish Bourne as a one of the leading bespoke e-Learning developers in the country. He has broad experience of consultancy and development and will provide yet more strength to our project management and development teams."