UK – 14th January, 2008 – A free service to help start-ups and small businesses increase their productivity and competitiveness through technology is now available to companies based in Yorkshire & Humber, the South East and the South West regions of England.

The Business IT Guide was developed by e-skills UK in collaboration with market leaders such as Oracle, EDS, IBM, Accenture, Cisco, Microsoft, HP, Smart421 and BT, and has been tested extensively with small businesses.

The Guide is a user friendly online tool that helps businesses access a wide range of high quality, independent advice to help them fully exploit technology.  Advice includes:

• everything a new business needs to know – from complying with legislation to security;
• where to go for trusted information;
• how to properly introduce and manage technology;
• how to deal with the resource implications: cost, training, time; and
• how to plan for growth and changing needs.

There are five separate routes to advice and information via the Guide:

1. a self help tool – designed to help those unsure of their ICT needs;
2. facts – designed to encourage people to take action;
3. hot tips – designed to have an immediate impact;
4. The Guide library – with all 72 Business IT Guides listed; and
5. search facilities.

Keri-Ann Davies, Business Adviser for the Welsh Assembly Government, said:

“In the past I have made use of the Business Link website and found the best practice IT advice very useful.  The Business IT Guide seems to provide more advanced information than was previously available through Business Link, and also includes the built in search facilities and links.  I found it extremely informative.”

“e-Learning can also greatly enhance a small businesses acquisition of skills and delivery of training”, said Sean Griffin, Co-Founder of Learn Skills, the web-based skills and compliance training company, “and it is for that reason that we are developing training programs tailored to the needs of both SMEs and new start-ups.”

Source: e-skills Passport Winter newsletter

E-learning companies are changing the face of how businesses train their staff.  In this world of people using the Internet on a daily basis, e-learning companies offer a smart solution to an age-old problem of keeping employees educated and updated on the latest trends.

Companies have long battled with the high costs of training their employees, but e-learning companies are offering an affordable solution to this problem.  In the past there were limited choices for companies to keep their employees trained.  A business would either employ a large training department, which costs a great deal of money, or they would be forced to send their employees to outside training events which was also very expensive.

The only other option for business was really no option at all, that is to not give proper and up to date training to their employees.  Businesses understand that not providing their employees with continuing education results in giving their competitors and edge over them.  E-learning companies have developed an affordable way to keep employees trained and educated on the best methods that are used in various industries.

Smart companies are looking for ways to automate their training of employees and the most sensible method is to employ e-learning companies. E-learning companies provide a suite of diverse catalog courses, content management, reliable reporting, online authoring, ease of use, and scalability that can be adjusted as the company grows and changes.

E-learning allows both large and small companies the ability to give their employees the latest and greatest training available.  With the flexibility that e-learning companies provides to their customers the training programs can be adjusted to fit the needs of any company.  Whether you have a work force of fifty or five hundred, e-learning companies have the solution that you are looking for.

Another great benefit of utilizing e-learning companies is that you can control the scheduling of the training sessions much easier.  Instead of taking many employees away from work at one time to do training in a classroom setting, you can utilize the Internet and allow each individual employee to take training courses at the most efficient time possible.  Businesses can even offer training to their employees from their home if the need arises.

There are multiple e-learning companies offering services to businesses and choosing the right one is critically important. Not only must a business consider the cost of purchase, but a business must also consider the return on investment and the amount of time it takes to achieve that return on investment. With e-learning companies such as Learn Skills, you can actually have your system up and running in a matter of days, not weeks like competitors.

Cost is always a factor when choosing which of the elearning companies to go with. When you go with Learn Skills you will be getting one of the most affordable training options for your employees. You will also be receiving a great deal of empowerment since you are able to custom tailor the programs to fit the specific needs of your company.

E-learning companies give you and your business the ability to stay ahead of your competitors and to develop your employees.  E-learning companies are direction that forward thinking businesses are going for their entire employee training needs.  With the convenience and ease of use, e-learning companies are able to meet the needs of their customer in a way never before imagined.

Check out elearning companies such as Learn Skills today and get started training your employees on the latest skills that they need to help your business succeed.

Soft skills refer to a very diverse range of abilities such as:

• Self-awareness
• Analytical thinking
• Leadership skills
• Team-building skills
• Flexibility
• Ability to communicate effectively
• Creativity
• Problem-solving skills
• Listening skills
• Diplomacy
• Change-readiness

Many people often refer to ‘soft skills’ as ‘people skills’ or ‘emotional intelligence’. Hard skills are the technical abilities required to do a job or perform a task: essentially they are acquired through training and education programs, like those offered by Learn Skills.

Importance of Soft Skills

According to psychologist Daniel Coleman, a combination of competencies that contribute to a person’s ability to manage his or herself and relate to other people-matters twice as much as IQ or technical skills in job success.

Results of a recent studies on the importance of soft skills indicated that the single most important soft skill for a job candidate to possess was interpersonal skills, followed by written or verbal communication skills and the ability to work under pressure.

A constantly changing work environment – due to technology, customer-driven markets, an knowledge-based economy and globalisation that are currently impacting on the structure of the workplace and leading to an increased reliance on, and demand for, soft skills.

Soft skills are not a replacement for hard- or technical-skills. They are, in many instances, complementary, and serve to unlock the potential for highly effective performance in people qualified with the requisite hard skills.

Learn Skills provides a comprehensive range of soft-skill courses for employees who want to enhance their work performance and improve their employability.

Reference: sitagita.com