TRIO, the web-based learning system in use in Italy’s Tuscany Region, is helping individuals enhance their skills; companies maintain their competitive advantage, and other organisations operate more efficiently and provide greater value for money to their stakeholders.
This news was given to some 250 people at a recent conference, called ‘The TRIO System for Competitiveness’. The conference, held in Florence, Italy, reviewed case studies relating to Training Innovation Research and (job) Orientation (TRIO) – the web learning system of the Tuscan Region (www.progettotrio.it) – which makes available, to citizens, public and private organisations, a free catalogue of over 1,600 training courses covering 16 thematic areas.
To date, over 550,000 of these courses have been delivered to some 195,000 users since TRIO’s inception in 2002 – and some 65,400 people used the system last year. In 2006, the European Commission awarded the TRIO project the European Label for language teaching through innovation and effective teaching practices.
The event was organised by the Region of Tuscany in collaboration with its project technology partners, including eXact Learning Solutions, which is one of the world’s leading providers of learning content management (LCMS) and digital repository (DR) solutions.
A key theme of the conference was that investment in human capital (job related knowledge and skills) is vital in establishing and maintaining a competitive edge in today’s labour market – especially in the light of increasing international competition and the continuing, challenging economic situation. There was agreement that, in Tuscany, the use of learning technologies – in the TRIO system – is playing a major role in helping people and organisations in the region to improve their performance standards and more than meet European standards in professional qualifications.
“We’re now reaping the benefits of this project, some ten years since its inception,” said Gianni Biagi, Training and Orientation Director for the Tuscany Region. “In this, the project contributes to implementing European policies on lifelong learning.”
Fabrizio Cardinali, the Chair of the European Learning Industry Group (ELIG) and CEO of eXact learning solutions, North America, commented: “Web learning platforms – thanks to interoperability, testing and certification of competencies as per common standards – enable people to customise their learning materials to their particular needs. This is particularly valuable where the learning is delivered, ‘just enough’ and ‘just-in-time’, via mobile devices.
“TRIO is an important milestone and should be considered as a reference start point for other training and inclusion initiatives,” he added.
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“TRIO represents ‘excellence’ in the world of e-learning because it addresses the continuous evolution of training needs successfully,” explained Gianfranco Simoncini, the Tuscany Region’s Minister for Education, Vocational Training and Labour.
