...Blended training gives students union all the right answers...
 
Monday 2nd March 2009, ILX Group plc has worked with the NUS Services Ltd a voluntary membership organisation that works in colleges and universities across the United Kingdom, to provide PRINCE2 training to its senior management and executives.  ILX supplied a hosted web-link for PRINCE2 Foundation level, along with corporate training copies on CD ROM.  Candidates attended ILX’s Nantwich offices to sit their Foundation exam and personnel who needed to can upgrade to Practitioner level also attended a two day course.

There are sixty people within the organisation and the NUS plans to embed PRINCE2 project management across the whole organisation. This will ensure that even those on the fringes of project management will also understand procedures and best practices. 

Nick Emms, Sales and Marketing Manager at NUS Services Ltd, describes the NUS as: “a relatively small organisation with a wide scope of activities. For example we negotiate large scale purchase deals and marketing campaigns for third parties such as discounted travel for students and music based event activity. We are increasingly working on complex projects, involving cross-functional teams across the organisation – and we needed to manage the risk by formalising how projects were managed. It therefore made sense to get everyone to go through PRINCE2 Foundation level even if their current role wasn’t necessarily managing the whole project as the skills learnt had a beneficial impact in all aspects on their thinking and approach.” 

ILX Group plc was selected as training provider for its blended approach of offering web-based training and classroom support.  In the last year the NUS Services Ltd purchased licences for the Foundation e-learning course.  This was for 12 people and saved the NUS just over £2,500 pound sterling compared to an entirely classroom based Foundation course.

The feedback from the learners has been extremely positive. “Our team really enjoyed sharing the process and exchanging ideas.  It was a substantial undertaking for us - so people felt it was a real achievement to get the qualification. The web-based system gave us the right information to get through the exam in a very flexible manner, and the classroom based trainer provided additional support where it was needed,” added Emms 

Eddie Kilkelly, Managing Director, Best Practice Division, ILX Group plc, says: “Embedding PRINCE2 project management within an organisation is an excellent way to ensure consistent levels of project management performance across all levels.  It was the cost-effective nature of our blended learning that was a direct factor in the NUS Services Ltd using our services. The 100% pass levels speak for themselves.”

Kilkelly adds: “ILX is already working very closely with a number of Universities and Colleges in providing e-Learning to staff and to both undergraduate and post graduate students on a wide basis - and we are delighted to be supporting the NUS too.”