US electronic learning (e-learning) company Focus EduVation, which specialises in developing custom e-learning systems, videos and interactive content, is exploring opportunities to make available its industrial, corporate and academic training systems and services in Africa and South Africa, says Focus EduVation strategic partnerships VP Vik Aurora.
The general use of custom e-learning systems in industry and by commercial firms is to develop skills, including those of new employees, retrain individuals and teams regarding specific competences, as well as test existing skills against business process requirements.
Focus EduVation also has significant experience in tertiary vocational and career education, similar to South Africa’s technical, vocational education and training colleges, and aims to provide its services for in-house training in privately owned companies and tertiary colleges.
“We build custom media solutions for educational purposes. While we do have several generic media and education sys- tems, our focus is on producing content and education systems specific to a course, discipline, firm, department or technical function.”
The company typically produces digitised case studies, based on the client’s own operations, which are then used to develop training materials and measure specific skills or competences. It also produces interactive programs, often in the form of a gaming challenge, which are used to evaluate how individuals approach problems, the solutions they use and the simulated outcomes.
Aurora adds that simulations are also used by companies and colleges to introduce trainees safely to live and practical testing environments, enabling them to become familiar with various machines, protocols and processes. Additionally, these simula- tions enable the organisation to assess indivi- duals’ theoretical understanding or weaknesses as they work through the simulated processes.
Focus EduVation also helps organisations to build their digital assets, which can include training materials for specific functions or individual roles within processes, in addition to more general training and induction content. These assets are added to and changed as the firm grows and as regulations and practices change.
However, pedagogy remains central to any education system, and a large focus of the firm involves understanding the precise requirements of a client, the intended outcome of the training and the expected audience, as well as standardising and producing appropriate content. This involves close cooperation with the faculty or department and with the trainers to ensure that there is active reinforcement of the content being produced, Aurora notes.
“Large parts of the workforce, and each of us as individuals, need to be retrained regu- larly to sharpen skills, or acquire new skills and additional skill sets that enable individuals to expand their horizons, and companies can benefit by managing career development more effectively.
“The premise of digital and virtual training is that it helps to provide a sandbox-type environment, where educators and trainers can build new content, test its effectiveness, break it down and rebuild new training materials,” concludes Aurora.