KINGSTON, Jamaica – Cable and Wireless Limited in Jamaica on Wednesday, August 16 unveiled its new e-Learning project, which allows access to more than 2,000 courses online in a wide cross-section of areas including business and professional development, management, information technology, finance and law.
The training and educational tool is targeted at business customers and allows employers to access and create company-specific courses to improve employee orientation and overall efficiency. The courses are internationally recognized.
Education and Youth Minister, Maxine Henry Wilson in her remarks at the launch held at the Hilton Kingston Hotel, lauded Cable and Wireless for the innovation. “I think it is important that in the business world, we should ensure that our people are getting access to new information, new knowledge, as that will allow them to be as productive and creative as possible,” she stated.
The Minister said that although a large portion of the workforce was not certified, “we need to take into account the competencies of those who are in the workforce and to record that and to use that as a sort of benchmark to determine what we need to add so that they become globally competitive”.
“This is one of the reasons why this e-Learning project is so important, in that it would provide flexible access to information, that is what is going to determine the extent to which we are able to compete with our neighbours,” she added.
Professor Neville Ying, Executive Director of the Mona School of Business, noted that in order for any e-learning initiative to be successful, there must be partnerships and strategic alliances with key stakeholders in the education sector, such as colleges and business schools.
“Education and training are the most critical processes for achieving the goals of social development and economic competitiveness and this is the case whether we live in a developing country like Jamaica or an industrialized country,” he pointed out.
He commended Cable and Wireless on launching the e-Learning project, noting that the initiative was an example of what was expected of progressive companies worldwide as they sought to demonstrate corporate responsibility.
