Interview with Andy Madigan, Head of Technology, ALISON, October 5th, 2015.
Does ALISON use some form of technology for vocational safety training? This could including anything from computer-based assessment, to online courses, to gamification, virtual reality, etc.
Yes, we actually use some of the ALISON safety courses – https://alison.com/subjects/3/Health-Safety-Compliance. The specific courses we assign depend on the job role of the person in question. We monitor all through our free Study Groups product, giving us central reporting and assigning.
What would you say is the value of using technology for vocational safety training at ALISON, versus more traditional face to face training?
There are benefits to both the company and the individual in using online courses. The most important of these from the company point of view is that we are able to maintain records of the training without investing any time – we use the automated reporting that comes with our free Study Groups product. We do all our in-house training through this and our HR team can go in at any time and report on a member of staff to see their training progress, and ensure they have covered all relevant courses. For the individual the biggest advantage is the ability to go back and review at any time. It isn’t just a once off session that is soon forgotten. We strongly encourage all our staff to engage in lifelong learning and this plays a big part in that.
Over the next five or ten years, what opportunities, changes or developments do you see for technology in relation to vocational safety training?
We would see it all moving online. With the exception where someone needs to learn hands on how to work with a piece of machinery or similar item there is no reason for in person training any more. We see a lot of developments and are working on some revolutionary changes, but naturally for commercial reasons we won’t go into detail on that! But more generally, there is a trend in learners seeing traditional learning institutions as more and more money making engines rather than focused on learning. This has created a tide change where more and more organisations and individuals are turning to free platforms like ALISON to receive their training.
