University's e-learning unit moves into the leisure zone

Citation

(2007), "University's e-learning unit moves into the leisure zone", Industrial and Commercial Training, Vol. 39 No. 7. https://doi.org/10.1108/ict.2007.03739gab.001

University's e-learning unit moves into the leisure zone

Recruits learning the ropes at UK holiday company Center Parcs will get a head start in their new careers thanks to an online induction course being designed by the University of Derby’s e-learning unit, Innovation 4 Learning (I4L).

I4L has won a contract to devise an e-learning training package that will present introductory corporate information on screen. The course will be delivered through I4L’s Intelligent Shell System (ISS) software and is designed so that new recruits can either watch it on a DVD or log on to the internet through their personal computers to see it.

The course is designed to enable Center Parcs, which takes on 1,500 new staff every year, to give an introduction to the firm, present an on-screen walk-through of each of its four UK sites and explain about the company’s core values, what is expected of employees and the benefits of working for Center Parcs.

I4L has also been asked to create a separate e-learning food-hygiene course, which has been developed in conjunction with the University of Derby’s Institute of Tourism and Hospitality Management – a center of vocational excellence for catering and hospitality, based in Buxton.

I4L has previously sold ISS packages to organizations including the British Museum, New Look, Derbyshire County Council and Heinz.

Center Parcs has four holiday villages in the UK: in Sherwood Forest, Nottinghamshire; Whinfell Forest, Cumbria; Longleat Forest, Wiltshire; and Elveden Forest, Suffolk.

Jo O’Neill, UK training manager, said:

Our aim is to ensure that all new employees joining the company settle in as quickly as possible with the motivation and expertise to deliver excellent guest service immediately. The interactive package will enable us to be much more dynamic and focused in our initial-welcome workshop and will also reduce time spent in the classroom from three days to one-and-a-half. Not only is it a simple system that we can operate internally quite easily, it was also a very cost-effective option that suited our needs.

Meanwhile, five members of staff at Weststar Holiday Parks all passed the CITO National Certificate in Park Management at their first sitting.

The successful candidates were two of Weststar’s general managers, plus an operations manager, a security employee and a holiday-home sales manager. They all started studying for the examination last year. The syllabus covered subjects such as consumer and employment law, health and safety, and environmental and social responsibility.

“Training is an integral part of our operations, said Rachael Taaffe, Weststar chief executive. Following this success, every Weststar general manager holds the CITO qualification. This underlines our determination to have staff of the highest caliber and with the best training, in every area of our parks.”

David Jelfs, general manager at Weststar’s Mullion holiday park, said:

Supervising activity at a holiday park is enormously challenging; I have to understand every aspect from ensuring safety at the adventure playgrounds and restaurants to understanding contractual law for the entertainers we have on site. I am delighted to have passed.

CITO is a partnership for training owned by the British Holiday and Home Parks Association and the National Caravan Council. It is responsible for providing training information and support throughout the UK caravan, holiday and residential-park industries.