Web offers new line

By Adam Gifford

Auckland training broker the Training Line is enjoying a surge of business from its new Internet service.

Managing director Margot Baddeley says while the underlying database has been growing since she started her training brokerage in 1991, she has been wary of creating printed or CD ROM course directories because they would be dated even before they come out.

The Training Online database at www.trainingonline.co.nz is updated daily to keep abreast of the hundreds of providers offering thousands of courses in every area of business or industry.

Since it went live in February, the Training Line's customer list has grown to more than 700. For site access, firms pay $750 plus GST for a single user annual subscription, or $3000 for a corporate licence.

This allows them to search for training courses and book either through the Training Line or directly from the course vendor.

Searches can be done by topic or keyword, and by region. There are also extensive links to tertiary institutions. Training companies don't pay to have their courses listed.

Margot Baddeley says it is hard for managers to identify the best training for staff.

They don't have time to hunt down brochures or to keep abreast of what is available.

"The intent of this database is to put it all together in one place," she says.

"What usually happens in business is that pamphlets and brochures whizz across the desk, and the HR manager either does something with them immediately or bins them."

Training Online means the manager can quickly make comparisons with other training on the market and identify what staff actually need.

While the site provides information on who is out there, clients must ring the Training Line if they want "qualified" advice on the quality or suitability of training providers.

"What one person perceives as good training may not be seen in the same way by someone with different needs."

Margot Baddeley says that some customers are making Training Online "the front end for administration of their training needs," often devolving responsibility for training to line managers and outsourcing the administration to the Training Line.

For an additional fee the Training Line will provide monthly reports on what managers have looked at and the training they have booked. This can assist budgeting and planning.

New clients, she says, often have access to other sources of training which can be made more widely available through Training Online.

"Until we signed Transit New Zealand, I had never heard of the Institute of Highway Technology. But it exists and it provides courses in things like chip seal techniques," she says.

The database integration and back-end wizardry for the site has been done by On The Net, while the elegant site itself is the responsibility of Click Suite.

Future plans include extending the site as a centralised reference to training resources, including books, videos, multimedia and on-line training sites.

"Customers really like being able to look up the information themselves. We will continue to build those services," she says.