What’s New
Firm offers courseware learning programs tailored to clients’ needs
Friday, September 25th, 2009
The CEO of Bluedrop Performance Learning says electronic learning isn’t only about clinching masters’ degrees for career advancement, it’s a growing teeming medium that can help bolster our aerospace industry or hone our national defence.
Tracey Fraser, senior project manager of Bluedrop, is shown in their office in Fredericton next to a sample of one of their projects.
“I believe the scales have tipped in the past few years,” said Emad Rizkalla. “Now, the majority of employees prefer to get their training online. Anyone who has had anything to do with post-secondary education in the past five years has been exposed to online or blended learning. I think individuals appreciate the convenience of 24/7 access… (and) employers appreciate the better outcomes, consistency, speed and often cost reduction of online learning.”
The Newfoundland-based company, which also has offices in Ottawa, Washington, Calgary and Fredericton, offers courseware learning programs tailored to clients’ needs. Rizkalla said too many companies and industries have been forced to cut back on training in these tough economic times, and he said that can only make the problem worse. He sees training as the ultimate solution.
One of the firm’s most recognized courseware programs is used for the safety training of Sikorsky S-92 helicopter pilots.
Another popular Bluedrop program is its air traffic controller training. Upon uploading, prospective workers for NAV Canada, which owns and operates the nation’s civil air navigation service, could take their first five weeks of training at home, saving money and building a new career for themselves without putting their lives on hold.
The company also recently launched a new service called CoursePark at www.coursepark.com.
“It is designed to help smaller and midsize companies manage their training so that employees can take courses inexpensively online from a global library,” Rizkalla said, adding that the service is being used by companies such as Irving and Nalcor Energy.
The courseware Bluedrop’s Fredericton branch has crafted – from on the-job-safety, to emergency procedures, to environmental awareness – helped it to nab $260,000 in financial assistance from Business New Brunswick earlier this month. Rizkalla said that will help the Fredericton branch offer at least 20 new jobs locally in the next few years.
“It is rewarding to work on projects and courses that impact learners’ daily lives,” said Tracey Fraser, senior project manager for Bluedrop’s Fredericton branch.
She said the courses developed here for Cougar Helicopters have been reviewed by Transport Canada, receiving its seal of approval for pilot training. Rizkalla said such successes at all of its branches lead to a domino effect as word of mouth spreads.
“We also are able to bring a unique perspective to clients because we have best practices from our clientele,” he said.
Those customers include companies from around the world such as Cisco, Dell, Microsoft, Pfizer, Pearson Education, and Sony.
He said the next step is to broaden that dent in the global market. “In five years, I see us having a footprint in a few countries and being one of the most respected courseware development brands globally… (but) I find five years to be an eternity in (this industry’s) fast moving pace… it just boggles the mind.”