MITA engages ISL for Skillsoft eLearning

Enterprisewide initiative to benefit over 100 employees

MITA, the public sector agency that is driving the government’s Information and Communications Technology (ICT) policy, programmes and initiatives in Malta, has engaged Information Systems Limited to provide Skillsoft’s eLearning programmes in Project Management, IT and technical skills for 12 months to over 100 of its employees.

ISL first delivered a three-week pilot programme for a number of employees at the Malta Information Technology Agency earlier this year. The Agency decided to engage ISL on the one-year enterprise-wide licence from which staff from various departments will benefit on the basis of the highly positive feedback received via an online survey with the participants in the pilot.

All the MITA employees will be accessing the eLearning programme through Skillsoft’s skillport 8i™ platform. Among the benefits of this platform are: • it is fast and easy to deploy. No apps are

installed on your PC/laptop/device; • eLearning content is accessible from anywhere on a 24x7x365 basis via the user’s favourite web browser; • it is desktop/mobile/tablet ready; • content (including mentoring) can be revisited and accessed for the entire duration of the licence (one year); and • it supports Web Accessibility, Skillsoft’s implementation of Section 508 and W3C compliance standards, which it supports and promotes in its software applications and courseware. Skillsoft software works with several assistive technologies, which are any electronic or information technologies that allow individuals with disabilities to use information on a computer that they would not be able to access otherwise.

Skillsoft supports the following assistive technologies: • screen reader software (a speech synthesiser technology that converts text to audio); • shortcut keys for all mouse actions; • alternative images to replace animated

graphics; and • elimination of screen refresh rates between 5 Hz and 55 Hz, which can cause seizures for some individuals. ISL held three familiarisation sessions at MITA to take participants on a tour of all the eLearning programmes they would have access to and to give them an idea of what to expect.

Jesmond Mizzi, Human Resources Manager at MITA, said: “We are confident that the Skillsoft eLearning programmes our staff can access will further enable the agency to deliver on its three core components:

its transformation approach to its programmes and projects – to transform the way they are engineered together with their delivery, their return on investment and the enhancement of the all-round value they effectively provide;

its innovation approach – the aspiration to become the leading innovator in the public sector and one of the prime movers in the innovation circuit in Malta by thinking creatively in respect of its people, technology and operations; and

its excellence approach, which strengthens the agency’s craving for continuous improvement at all levels. This puts fostering and encouraging an ongoing culture of learning high on our list of priorities.”

Simon Calleja-Urry, Director of ISL, said: “We are proud that Skillsoft’s eLearning programmes are accessible to all users, even those with disability, so the entire cohort selected by MITA to follow these programmes in the coming months can take the maximum benefit in the most flexible way possible.

“No fewer than twenty-four (24) Skillsoft eLearning programmes will be accessible to these MITA employees for the duration of the licence.”

For further information, visit www.isl.com.mt.