News

For Immediate Release
Launch of Asia’s First Competency-based E-Learning Academy Designed to Improve Worker Productivity in Singapore

SINGAPORE, May 26 2010 (PRESS) Inchone, a premium Singapore-based e-learning company has announced the launch of Inchone NetAcademy (INA), Asia’s first online competency-based education academy. The e-learning platform was built with Microsoft’s leading-edge technologies and revealed to the public at the Microsoft “Future of Productivity” launch. The INA is a user-friendly web-based training platform for PMETs (professionals, managers, engineers, and technicians), skilled and unskilled workers that is accessible 24X7, from anywhere. INA was conceived and developed to be in line with the government’s calls to improve workforce productivity and specifically addresses the need for SMEs to upgrade their workers’ skills and efficiency.

Inchone aims to enhance the development of professional occupational competencies in the Singapore workforce. INA will provide a holistic competency-based education to better prepare PMETs and other workers with the skills required to thrive in a fast-changing digital workplace. INA will place great emphasis on building relevant competencies with systematic customised curriculum, well-designed content and e-learning programmes through consultation from subject matter experts, trade associations and business chambers. INA will focus on identifying learning outcomes based on specific competencies required for different industries and serve as a content aggregator and depository of industry-specific e-learning courses - currently INA provides over 5,000 online courses and IT technology resources in total.

All businesses rely on a set of competencies for workers to be able to perform the work required, this can include technical skills, management skills, and communication skills, to name a few. INA provides a comprehensive training platform with a focus on providing our learners with the skills required to complete tasks across the organisation more efficiently and effectively. Many companies now find it necessary to align training with workplace outcomes and identify a real return on the investment a company puts into training, and this is especially true for SMEs.

The online academy is a result of the close collaboration between Microsoft and Inchone. Inchone has been a Microsoft ISV Partner for 10 years and is currently a Microsoft Global Tier One Partner for Microsoft Learning. INA leverages on Microsoft Azure’s cloud computing platform, which gives the e-learning solution incredible flexibility and scalability, as well as the ability for Inchone to offer over 3,000 Microsoft e-learning courses on the platform. In support of the “Future of Productivity” launch, which includes commercial availability for Office 2010, Visual Studio 2010, SharePoint 2010, Visio 2010, SQL 2008 R2 and Project 2010, Inchone will be offering special discounted e-learning courses on the latest versions of Microsoft Visual Studio and Office.

“Microsoft works closely with our partner ecosystem to develop technology solutions that address real-world problems for businesses of any size. We are delighted to support Inchone’s strategic initiative by offering our latest technologies and tools, including Visual Studio 2010 and Azure for development of the Inchone NetAcademy learning platform,” said Ms Jessica Tan, Managing Director, Microsoft Singapore. “We are also pleased that the INA offers a wide range of Microsoft-related e-learning courses that cover our latest productivity solutions like Office 2010, Windows Server 2010 and SQL Server R2, which we launched commercially today.”

Inchone NetAcademy also partners with a network of professional trainers, content partners, workplace experts, Continuing Education and Training (CET) centres and trade associations, selected from the workforce on the basis of their ability to articulate their views, their knowledge of the work processes involved in their area and their acceptability to the workforce. Together they form the core group that will identify workforce skills and will help to develop the customised e-learning training programmes. Selected industry-specific courses from trade associations and professional bodies are also designed in accordance with WDA’s Workforce Skills Qualification (WSQ) system for WSQ Certificate, Diploma or Advanced Diploma certifications.

“Inchone anticipates potential learners using the INA platform to have specific industry-based training needs, and is therefore committed to provide professionally well-developed courses for such trainings. The recent announcement of the plans by the government to invest $2.5 billion in Continuing Education and Training over the next five years shows tremendous support for the Singapore workforce” commented Mr Kuik See Juan, Inchone’s Chairman and Managing Director.

ABOUT INCHONE

Founded in 2000, Inchone is a premier Singapore-based solutions provider of online learning and training systems that enables organisations to transform knowledge into workplace productivity. Inchone NetAcademy (http://www.inchonenetacademy.com) is an interactive competency-based online training platform for PMETs (Professionals, Managers, Engineers, Technicians), Skilled and Unskilled Workers.

ABOUT MICROSOFT

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

For more information, please contact:

Inchone Victor Chow DID: (65) 6441 4478 Email: enquiries@inchone.com
Edelman PR Amanda Koh DID: (65) 6347 2333 Email: Amanda.Koh@edelman.com	Microsoft Michael Chambers DID: (65) 6888 8429 i-micham@microsoft.com