People and Skills

Learning Chain Portal

"Using the Internet to provide professional development for education providers"

The learning chain is a web-based, accurate, searchable, updated and maintained portal of all relevant public and private sector training and development opportunities.

Organisation: The Learning Chain Ltd.

Completion Date: 31/07/2004

Location

Epinal Way, Loughborough

Project Description

The Learning Chain Partnership is a unique opportunity for the East Midlands to lead the way in raising standards and developing excellence for those delivering and supporting Post 16 Education and Training - David Hughes, Regional Director, Learning and Skills Council, East Midlands

Background
thelearningchain is a not-for-profit company set up to meet the training and development needs of all post-compulsory education and training providers. It's an exciting new approach to professional development for the this sector and it will support the Leicester Shire Economic Partnership (LSEP) in delivering its vision for 2012 in which the sub-region will become a 'centre of excellence' through the quality of its education and training.

Portal details
thelearningchain portal provides access to a full range of Continuous Professional Development (CPD) opportunities for all those working in the 'Learning and Skills' sector, i.e. further education colleges, schools, voluntary and community training providers, adult education and work-based learning providers.

Range of programmes
The wide range of CPD programmes available through thelearningchain portal includes:

• Teaching and learning;
• Basic skills tuition;
• Employer engagement;
• ILT (Information Learning Technology);
• Leadership and management.

For the first time the sector can source CPD opportunities through a single, customised, point-of-contact.

Online assistance
The portal will use e-commerce, enabled to facilitate the online booking of learning opportunities. It will contain a web-based CPD log for individual employees of the participating organisations, enabling them to record and reflect on their learning and progression.

Learning and Skills
thelearningchain responds to the key Learning and Skills policy drivers of:

• Success for all;
• The common inspection framework;
• Increased professionalism;
• Lifelong learning.

Outcomes

Benefits of portal

• A single point-of-contact through which the Learning and Skills providers can access and buy professional development opportunities and share best practice and learning.
• A web-based, accurate, searchable, updated and maintained Continuous Professional Development portal of all relevant public and private sector training and development opportunities.
• A facility for best-practice sharing and benchmarking.

Project Contacts

Project manager:
Hilary Hale
Tel: 0870 835 1011
E-mail: hilary@thelearningchain.net
Website: www.thelearningchain.net

LSEP contact:
Phil Durban
Tel: 0116 257 5698
Email: phild@lsep.co.uk
Website: www.lsep.co.uk