Accessible e-learning for all manufacturers. (Presstime Notes).

The National Center for Manufacturing Sciences (NCMS) has partnered with SABA, a leader in e-learning technology, to develop a series of e-learning portals for manufacturers of all sizes.

Ken Johnson, NCMS director of educational services says: "This partnership offers manufacturers a unique opportunity to improve the way they educate their employees. Until now, e-learning opportunities have, for the most part, eluded the small-to-medium sized manufacturers. Yet, it is precisely this target group of employers that often cannot afford the coast or the downtime of losing key personnel to traditional off-site seminars and classes."

SABA will provide the platform through which NCMS will customize company- and industry-specific learning portals. NCMS will utilize a wide variety of authoring tools to convert traditional instructor-led classes into web-playable courses.

"By working with SABA, we can make it significantly less expensive," says Johnson. Our goal is to serve manufacturers of all sizes by creating valuable resources that save time and money and also improve technologies."

For larger companies with more than 200 employees, NCMS will be able to develop company-specific portals. To serve smaller companies, the organization is developing technologies for more general portals that include relevant, general manufacturing courses. As a result of these new portals, employees won't need to leave the job site to gain advanced knowledge and skill sets.

Each module of 20 to 30 minutes dedicated to a specific subject is expected to cost less than $100.