Pictured L-R: Una Fitzpatrick, Director of Technology Ireland; Maire Hunt, Network Director of the Technology Ireland Software Skillnet; and Paul Healy, Chief Executive of Skillnet Ireland.
Enabling staff to learn new tech skills while on the job and provide them with the resources that they need to stay up to date can be a tough challenge for many Irish companies.
But that is set to change with a new programme called TechLEARN from Technology Ireland Software Skillnet which gives companies low-cost access to vital technology skills on the world’s leading tech e-learning platforms.
The initiative will allow companies to accelerate the development of tech skills for technology and non-technology staff and enable ‘always-on’ learning.
TechLEARN users will be able to access world-class content via a partnership with long-established US e-learning platforms Pluralsight and O’Reilly Learning.
The platforms provide tech workers across the world with continuous learning with a choice of more than 15,000 online training courses, interactive videos, case studies and skills assessment tools.
The platforms, which are used by staff working for the world’s biggest tech companies and organisations including vmware, Google, Salesforce and NASDAQ will be available through TechLEARN to companies and their staff, at the touch of a button.
With support from the Skillnet Ireland’s workforce development funding, the Technology Ireland Software Skillnet will enable companies to access these platforms at significantly reduced prices.
TechLEARN will be officially launched on February 11 at 10.30am, in the Davenport Hotel, Dublin 2.
Commenting, Una Fitzpatrick, Director of Technology Ireland, said: “Every company is now a technology company as digital technologies enable almost all company operations. The half-life of skills is rapidly falling as technologies like AI and blockchain, take hold. We expect that more than half of all employees will require reskilling and upskilling in digital and technology skills as a result. This will place huge demands on companies, their learning processes and their learning budgets.”
The on-demand digital libraries on the learning platforms in TechLEARN span a comprehensive suite of foundation to expert level courses in key technologies for, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning, Blockchain, Internet of Things (IoT), Data Science, Cyber Security and Cloud Computing, Software Development and Systems among others.
TechLEARN will help address the reskilling challenge, giving companies access to learning content immediately. With grant support from the Technology Ireland Software Skillnet TechLEARN initiative, companies now have an immediate and low-cost option for their technology learning ecosystem.
The traditional model of classroom learning will move towards people learning ‘all of the time’ – through work and social interactions, social media, across the web, and through new learning technologies which provide an ‘always on’, curated learning experience.
Companies that have already tapped into TechLEARN platforms with the Technology Ireland Software Skillnet, are providing Pluralsight and O’Reilly Learning online to over 3000 staff.
Commenting, Maire Hunt, Network Director of the Technology Ireland Software Skillnet, said: “The way that learning is delivered is now being transformed. TechLEARN Digital content and tools enable companies to curate and customise learning paths to fit operational needs.
“Giving staff the ability to learn within the flow of work, or in their own time, and quickly search for the knowledge they need immediately, speaks to millennials and older workers alike.”
The TechLEARN support service also enables companies to learn from one another as they progress through a digital learning journey. This provides valuable insight for company executives and those charged with company learning strategies.
In their 20th CEO survey, PwC found that 77 percent of the CEOs see the availability of key skills as the biggest threat to their business.
Skillnet Ireland Chief Executive Paul Healy said: “Skillnet Ireland enables businesses to stay competitive by developing innovative ways for workers to adapt to the new world of work and future-proof their skills. Today’s new TechLEARN initiative from Technology Ireland Software Skillnet displays this innovative approach needed to embed digitalisation and innovation right across the economy.”
“Now and in the future, most learning will take place within organisations and the ecosystems surrounding them. For workers of the future, the ability to adapt their skills to the changing needs of the workplace will be critical. Lifelong learning is no longer an option, it is a necessity. In order to stay competitive, businesses must act.”
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