Training Magazine Announces 2003 Training Top 100 and Leadership Alliance.

Business Editors

MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 1, 2002

Training magazine is embarking on the third annual Training Top 100 -- recognizing 100 companies that understand, embrace and use training not only to deliver business results but also to support their corporate values and enhance the work lives of their people.

To help bring the 2003 Training Top 100 to life, Training magazine created the Leadership Alliance -- an elite group of the training industry's leading suppliers that were invited to participate because they possess as one of their corporate values a true belief that training can make a difference in any organization. The 2003 Leadership Alliance includes: Sun Educational Services, Crisp Learning, Jones International University, WebEx Communications, Inc., Macromedia, CPP, LearnKey and Yahoo! Enterprise Solutions.

"The most obvious change since last year's program is the economy. But even in this far different climate, the Top 100 companies have managed to maintain an unparalleled commitment to workforce development," explains Tammy Galvin, executive editor of Training magazine. "Consequently, some 90 percent of the Top 100 companies strategically align personal development plans with overall corporate missions, goals and objectives, while simultaneously providing ample opportunities for individuals to grow and prosper in ways that they desire." This year's top five honorees in descending order are Pfizer Inc., Capital One Financial Corp., AmeriCredit, IBM and KLA-Tencor Corp.

"It was an honor for us to present the 2002 Training Top 100 awards to companies that live and breathe their corporate values. You feel the aura, the commitment and energy when you're with them. Such companies are infectious," adds Stacey Marmolejo, publisher. "The support of the Leadership Alliance allows us to recognize often unacknowledged people in a spectacular way. The Leadership Alliance is there with us because they, too, believe training can make a difference in any organization."

Training magazine, along with the 2003 Leadership Alliance, will announce the 2003 Training Top 100 at an awards ceremony in Atlanta on February 23, 2003. Meet the member companies:

Training magazine is a 38-year old professional development magazine that advocates training and workforce development as a business tool. It delves into management issues such as leadership and succession planning, human resources issues such as recruitment and retention and training issues such as learning theory, on-the-job skills assessments and aligning core workforce competencies to enhance the bottom-line impact of training and development programs. Written for training, human resources and business management personnel in all industries, Training magazine is read by more than 150,000 people each month. Visit www.trainingmag.com.

Sun Educational Services, the training group of Sun Microsystems, Inc., is recognized as one of the top IT training organizations in the world. Each year, over 400,000 students are educated through both technology-based training and at over 400 Sun and authorized training sites located in more than 60 countries. Sun provides comprehensive learning solutions for enterprises, IT organizations and individuals, including education consulting services, courseware, professional certifications, eLearning and a highly scalable, enterprise-class learning management system. Sun Educational Services offers an extensive portfolio of instructor-led and technology-based training. Instructor-led courses are available through training sites around the world and its eLearning courses are delivered through the Sun Web Learning Center. Visit http:www.sun.com/training.

Crisp Learning has more than 17 years of experience in supporting the learning efforts of thousands of corporate, government and educational organizations as well as millions of individuals. Learning leaders choose Crisp when they want competency-based programs that are practical, cost-effective and quick. The Crisp Fifty-Minute Series is recognized as one of the most familiar and respected brands in the training industry and is available in print, audio, video, CD and online courses. All offer the same "back to basics" approach and an unequaled blend of consistency and flexibility. From its vast database of content, Crisp also creates custom solutions for learning organizations throughout the world. Workplace Skills Made Simple! Visit www.crisplearning.com.

Jones International University (JIU) is the first fully online, accredited university. JIU combines technology with educational content to deliver convenient, high-quality, affordable bachelor- and master-level degree programs and professional certificate programs. Faculty and students interact via asynchronous online technologies such as online forums and e-mail. JIU has no site-based campus requirements. JIU students log into their courses from wherever they have access to a computer and the Internet. JIU has a diverse and rich student population from more than 100 countries, with curriculum designed specifically for an online learning environment by experts from leading institutions around the globe. Visit www.jonesinternational.edu.

WebEx Communications, Inc. provides visual communications services to corporations. WebEx's services support highly interactive data, voice and video communications across multiple operating systems and device platforms. All of WebEx's services are built on the WebEx Multimedia Switching Platform and delivered through the WebEx Interactive Network, a private, high-performance global network specifically designed for multimedia Web communications. WebEx's MediaTone technology allows the WebEx network to manage complex media types including 3-D objects, streaming media and multi-point video. WebEx's services are used across the enterprise in sales, support, training, marketing and engineering. Visit http://www.webex.com.

Macromedia empowers millions of designers and developers to create effective user experiences across the widest array of platforms and devices. Through an open, integrated family of client, tool, and server technologies, Macromedia is driving a new generation of rich Internet applications that will radically improve the Internet experience. Visit www.macromedia.com.

CPP, Inc., is a leading publisher and provider of innovative products and services for professionals focused on meeting individual and organizational development needs. Its hundreds of unique offerings have been used by millions in more than 50 countries to help people and organizations improve performance and increase understanding for more than 45 years. CPP's research-validated, reliable brands include the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator(R) (MBTI(R)), Strong Interest Inventory(R), Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument (TKI), FIRO-B(TM), California Psychological Inventory(TM) (CPI(TM)), and Spectrum CPI 260(TM) assessments. In addition, Davies-Black(R) Publishing, a division of CPP, offers cutting-edge business and career management books. Visit www.cpp.com. (MBTI, Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and Davies-Black are registered trademarks and California Psychological Inventory, CPI, Spectrum CPI 260 and FIRO-B are trademarks of CPP, Inc. Strong Interest Inventory is a registered trademark of Stanford University Press.)

LearnKey is a premier provider of e-learning technology, online learning solutions and self-paced training courses to corporate, education, government and individual clients worldwide. Very few companies have a longer history in the business of e-learning than LearnKey's 15 years of continuous operation. From the company's earliest days, LearnKey has filled the demand for self-paced learning. As progressing technology has opened new e-learning platforms, LearnKey has remained at the forefront. LearnKey pioneered multimedia-based training courses on interactive CD, and is now one of the very few e-learning companies to deliver consistent, high quality instruction online using streaming media technology. Visit www.learnkey.com.

Yahoo! Enterprise Solutions is Yahoo! Inc.'s business communications and services division that offers a suite of compelling applications used by tens of thousands of customers from the Fortune 2000 to small businesses. Yahoo! Enterprise Solutions leverages Yahoo!'s portal, communication, content and commerce technologies to build business solutions that enhance collaboration, reduce costs, and improve productivity. Companies that have benefited from Yahoo's enterprise solutions include Honeywell, Cigna, Merck, McDonalds, Merrill Lynch, Bayer, Cisco Systems, Ford Motors, Pepsi Cola and IBM. Visit http://enterprise.yahoo.com.