KnowledgePool helps to provide on-demand training for 22,500 civil servants at the Home Office
KnowledgePool, the learning services company, is providing on-demand training to the 22,500 civil servants at the Home Office, as part of an innovative two-year contract.
The contract enables the Home Office to call on KnowledgePool trainers both to provide specific training and to develop new training courses across a range of areas, including IT and core competencies covered by the Professional Skills for Government (PSG) initiative. A key part of the civil service reform agenda, PSG is a major change programme designed to ensure that all civil servants have the skills and expertise - including financial management, people management, programme and project management, communications, marketing and strategic thinking - to enable their departments or agencies to deliver effective services.
“Our internal training team was facing huge demand for training,” said Una McGarvie, Head of IT, Project & Programme Management and E-learning Skills at the Home Office Centre for Learning and Development. “We specifically went out to find providers we could call on to deliver training for us when and where there is a requirement and also assist with the provision of E-Learning courses to our staff. We have over 120 sites and we wanted to take the training out to people when and where it was needed without increasing our headcount.”
After a procurement process involving six suppliers, the Home Office created agreements with KnowledgePool and another provider.
“KnowledgePool understood our requirements and they have high quality, professional and proactive trainers who can not only help with specific requirements but can also cover for our own trainers when needed,” said Una McGarvie. “Now, whenever we have a training need which we can’t meet by using internal resources, we know we can use this contract to meet that demand.”
KnowledgePool has already assisted with delivery of in-house programme and project management courses and the development and delivery of IT training, including drop-in, ‘show and tell’ sessions covering MS Office suite functions. KnowledgePool is also undertaking bespoke E-Learning development to support training in specific Home Office applications and it supported the recent roll-out of the Home Office Learning Management System.
“All the training provided has received very good feedback,” said Una McGarvie. “At the Home Office, we’re under pressure both to deliver results and to show value for money. This contract enables us to achieve these aims with our training.”
Sean Craig, Account Director at KnowledgePool, said: “This is a very high profile contract for us. We’re essentially supplementing the Home Office’s in-house training team and adding greater flexibility as and when they require additional resources.”