Avilar Announces 'Webmentor/Skills' Software.

Business Editors/Hi-Tech Writers

e-learning Conference Expo 2002

LAUREL, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 9, 2002

Avilar Technologies, Inc. announced today the debut of its new WebMentor/Skills software, as a companion to its acclaimed WebMentor/LMS learning management system.

The announcement was made in conjunction with Avilar's appearance at the e-Learning Conference & Exposition at the Washington, DC, Convention Center this week.

"WebMentor/LMS has a strong installed base as well as a growing number of Avilar-operated ASP sites powered by WebMentor," said Dr. Alan Salisbury, Avilar's chairman. "With the addition of WebMentor/Skills, the WebMentor product line becomes even more comprehensive," he added. "WebMentor/Skills makes it possible to ensure that valid requirements are used to separate training `needs' from training `wants', while valuable training resources can be carefully targeted to close quantifiable skills gaps."

"Avilar has been planning its entry into the skills and competency management arena for some time now," said Jerry Horsewood, president & CEO of Avilar. "WebMentor/Skills is a very complete solution that can stand on its own merits as a full-featured skill and competency management system," he concluded.

Key features of WebMentor/Skills include:

-- Job/role competency model definition in terms of skills and competencies
required, the level of competency required for each (from conceptual knowledge
through mastery), and the relative importance to the job.

-- Assessment of skills and current proficiencies, to identify individual and
organizational skill gaps.

-- A searchable skills inventory of currently available skills and where they
can be found across the entire organization.

-- A Learning Resource database/catalog to select the best and most
cost-effective way to close skill gaps.

-- A Development Planner to create individual and departmental development
plans and track educational progress.

-- A Project Planner tool for managers to define project skill requirements and
pinpoint those employees who best match the requirements.

-- Report Generation of over 40 standard pre-programmed reports, as well as the
capability to generate custom reports as needed.

Avilar is also introducing WebMentor/Skills (IT), which includes a complete database of job competency models for over 100 common Information Technology job roles, which may be tailored to align with a user's unique organizational job descriptions.

WebMentor/Skills Release 1.0 will be available by the end of the current quarter. Avilar also plans to offer web-based skills assessment and planning services powered by WebMentor/Skills.