Great strides have been made in the company since 1997 when Technology-based learning was made (in learning center) available to all employees rather than being confined to the ITCs. Corporate Integrated Learning Services (CILS), the standard-bearer for technology-based learning has been extremely successful, marking up over half a million course completions in the past five years. This was only possible because it had evolved out of an entity that (the Corporate Learning Taskforce) that reported directly to the General Manager of T&CD. In the past two years CILS has lost its effectiveness and ability to innovate due to the fact that it has been reduced to the status of a unit in the Computer Training Division. CILS can continue to meet learning needs for all company employees, but only if its former “special” status is restored, for example by making it report directly to General Manager of T&CD or, preferably, to the executive director of Employee Relations & Training.
Learning Centers, the original standard-bearers of technology-based learning in the company, could also be at the forefront of the necessary drive to make training and learning relevant to the present and future needs of the company. Unfortunately an opportunity was lost when the facilitators of the centers were selected from the 3-10 workforce rather that developing 11+ teachers to move into the role of learning facilitator. Rather than allow learning centers to gracefully fade away, T&CD should breathe new life into them by bringing in (11+) professionals as Learning Counselors and creating a new job family to make the posts attractive.
There is still considerable resistance to the use of technology by teachers that could be partially overcome by either allowing reduced contact hours for teachers who are prepared to promote the use of the web to improve learning outcomes or allowing them to operate as high level learning counselors in learning centers for, say, three month stints. The ones who are most successful at promoting learning should be given the option of getting onto the Learning Counselor job ladder.
