Continual personal development is essential for a successful career and a robust business. One of the most convenient and cost-effective methods of doing this is is e-learning.
According to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development’s latest annual Learning and Development Survey, 58% of organisations use e-learning and, of those, almost half believe it is the most important development in training of the last few decades.
Why? Convenience and the ability to learn at your own pace is the key. Quite simply, agents do not have to wait for line managers to take the initiative as many platforms, such as Travel Weekly’s TWacademy, only require an individual to log on and register.
It is also a great way for agents to familiarise themselves with specialist operators and destinations, says Hurtigruten head of commercial Kathryn Beadle, whose company hosts a module on the TWacademy site.
“One of the advantages of online training is that it’s visual and the visuals bring the whole product to life,” said Beadle. “This is really vital for a company such as Hurtigruten, which is niche and different from other cruiselines.”
Because online platforms are easy to update, they can also keep agents abreast of the latest developments, which is why Ian Scott, director for the UK and Ireland at the Dubai Department of Tourism and Training, is an e-learning enthusiast.
In 2005 this TWacademy member launched its Dubai Expert Programme. “It offers Experts a clear advantage in winning sales, access to privileges from suppliers including airlines and hotels, inclusion on a referrals list for consumers and eligibility to be considered for future fam trips to Dubai,” said Scott.
Operators and tourist boards are not the only organisations investing in e-learning – recruitment companies are adding value to their service offering by providing access to online training too.
“A major benefit is you choose where, when and what to study,” said AA People Development managing director Debbee Dale, whose company hosts paid-for business travel management courses for Galileo, Sabre, Worldspan and Amadeus.
C&M Travel Recruitment client marketing manager Sarah Clayton-Turner agreed convenience and ease of use is a big plus of e-learning.
“The beauty of online training is you can log on at your leisure and take as little or as much time as you need to complete it,” she said. “Our course comprises realistic lessons, exercises, quizzes and a final test, which simulates a customer reservation system.”
New Frontiers and onlinetraveltraining.co.uk managing director Julia Feuell stressed the value of taking an online course on individuals’ CVs. She said: “Some of the product training is only an hour long so it’s a quick way to gain knowledge about destinations and improve your CV at the same time.”
Advantage Travel Centres has also been investing in online training and is about to launch its own platform, The Edge.
“Agents will be able to choose from a menu covering product, destination – skills for business and leisure,” explained sales and marketing director Colin O’Neill.
“If an agent is interested in Las Vegas, as soon as a new training module on the destination goes up, they receive an alert. It will also show the agent’s learning history and line managers can access it to see how staff are doing.”
There are many benefits to e-learning, although Association of Cruise Experts director of business development Andy Harmer said the ideal approach is to blend e-learning with other platforms.
“ACE’s philosophy is we provide as much training as possible including e-learning, podcasts and DVDs as well as face-to-face workshops. It works best if you use all the methods,” he said.
But e-learning offers training providers greater reach and students greater access. “With the best will in the world, we can’t do events across the entire country, so it is much more cost effective to use online training as well,” he said.
The project leader’s view
“In terms of teaching and learning resources for the Travel and Tourism Diploma, I’m sure enterprising organisations will already be planning to develop materials.
But they will have to see what awarding bodies come up with regarding the actual qualification before they can develop anything with confidence.
“As well as commercially available resources, considerable amounts of free online resources are available. Travel Weekly’s TWacademy is a prime example of a rich source of industry-approved material – what could be better than learners using the same resources as the professionals themselves?”
John Humphreys, project leader, Travel and Tourism Diploma Development Partnership and People 1st