Transportation to use e-learning

Seventy thousand employees in the Transportation Department will soon begin using a new e-learning program from Plateau Systems Ltd. 4 Learning Management System as part of the federal government's e-Training initiative and President's Management Agenda.

The Office of the Secretary of Transport and the Bureau of Transportation Statistics are scheduled to go live with the e-learning program in the first week of May. They will be followed through the summer by the other 11 agencies at Transportation.

The program will provide software infrastructure to manage all Web-based and classroom learning. Subject matter varies depending on the agency. For instance, the Federal Aviation Administration, slated to be the last agency to introduce the software in the fall, will focus on training air traffic controllers.

Plateau touts a more efficient learning cycle, one which yields a two-hour reduction in time taken away from work for each course taken online. Company officials also say their software leads to higher personnel retention because of on-demand knowledge, career planning and greater job satisfaction. Plateau will join with GP Strategies Corp.'s e-Learning, vendor partners with GoLearn, a service provider that supports the federal government's e-Training Initiative.

The system automatically delivers information to the right people, said David Pedreira, Plateau's senior director of corporate communication. For example, if the FAA has a new rule, the system can send e-mail alerts to all personnel affected by the change, Pedreira said.

"It's the automation that enhances overall readiness and ability to respond to any kind of change," he said.

The company, based in Arlington, Va., has provided similar learning management software to the American Red Cross.