San Diego based Kids Included Together announces their plans on utilizing state-of-the-art eLearning along with other resources to coach families and educational programs on iclusion: the process of including children with and without disabilities together in community settings such as recreational, child development, and youth development programs.

San Diego, CA, November 20, 2008 --(PR.com)-- San Diego based Kids Included Together (KIT) announced that they’ve been awarded the first of what promises to be a multi-year six-figure contract to provide its much sought after, best practice training on inclusion: the process of including children with and without disabilities together in community settings such as recreational, child development, and youth development programs. KIT will accomplish this by utilizing its curriculum, online tools and resources, relationship-based coaching, resource library and state-of-the-art eLearning modules.

The scope of work for the project is all-encompassing, creating a solid foundation for the Navy to build on year after year. As our sailors continue to answer our nation’s call to service, Navy Child and Youth Programs provide a place for their children to learn and grow, regardless of their abilities and where they go within the Navy system. KIT will provide much needed support in the area of inclusion by providing training and consultation services to all of programs", Larrie Rodriguez, Child and Youth Training and Communications Manager for Commander, Navy Installations Command. Year one responsibilities include a review of existing Navy materials, the creation of informational brochures for Navy families, conference presentations, the establishment of a toll-free helpline for world-wide access, creation and hosting of webinars, working group facilitation, guidebook and training module creation, creation of communication journals and multiple program site visits.

Navy Adopts KIT Worldwide: When asked about the importance of this contract to KIT, CEO Jan Giacinti was almost speechless. "It’s huge", she said, "We've had large grants and contracts before with national organizations like the Mitsubishi Electric America Foundation and CVS Pharmacy and we are thrilled to partner with the Navy and support their enthusiasm and forward-thinking to including all children, regardless of ability globally. This contract also allows KIT to expand the scope of its training and tools to build significantly on what it has already accomplished in the San Diego community and on the national stage." Given KIT's diminutive staff size, 5 full-time and 2 part-time Giacinti was asked how KIT intended to meet the increased demand for its services, “eLearning will be our biggest asset; …that and an amazing staff. Torrie Dunlap, KIT's Director of the National Training Center on Inclusion will be heading up the project and she's fabulous. Torrie led the way in crafting KIT’s state-of-the-art eLearning modules which will allow KIT to train Navy child and youth professionals anywhere in the world."

KIT staff members have the unique experience of being professionals in inclusion, as well as the direct experience of working in early childhood, school age and teen programs. KIT staff members know the challenges that child care and youth development professionals face, because they have worked in these settings. The recommendations, coaching, and training that KIT provides are rooted in experience, providing tools to providers that can be immediately implemented in a program setting. KIT trainers will also be involved in presentations and webinars to support Navy Child and Youth Program personnel. KIT’s website and eLearning capabilities were created through a partnership with San Diego State University’s Interwork Institute Center for Distance Learning with funding provided by San Diego based Qualcomm Inc.

About Kids Included Together (KIT): KIT's mission is to support recreational, child development and youth development programs that include children with and without disabilities. KIT’s goals are to enrich the lives of all who participate and to increase understanding and acceptance of disabilities as a natural part of life. In San Diego County KIT provides its services free of charge with its work being funded by grants and private donations. KIT is affiliated with 49 organizations representing 249 site locations in the County. Since inception in 1997 KIT has trained over 15,000 professionals on the process of inclusion resulting in the inclusion of over 8,000 children in community programs. KIT has also trained in 24 states and is currently conducting a pilot project funded by the Mitsubishi Electric America Foundation to establish 10 National Affiliates across the country."

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TRAINING TO TRANSFORM

People seek growth. They want the experience of progressing toward "bigger and better" things. Completing coursework and training is frequently seen as evidence of being on the right path … or at least on a path.That makes good sense; training gives access to new abilities, sharper skills, refined methods, and hopefully more value as an employee, a co-worker, a job candidate, etc. And good training can promise even more.

When an employer invests in training for an employee, it is usually considered by the employee to be a reflection of how much he/she is valued by the organization.

Hypothetical internal dialogue: "They’re telling me to do [fill in a type of training here] training. They expect me to [fill in a suspected job/role/task] in the future."

Although it may not be the intention behind the training, the employee’s subjective perspective of the training may have as much impact on the organization as the training itself. Mind you, opinions usually have little to do with the actual content of the course(s).

Assigning Training Initiatives is a Challenge

Deciding who to train and how to do it is hard enough. Worrying about how the employee may perceive the training only adds to the challenge.

Further compounding the challenge may be that most training programs are procedural. Many managers still believe that if employees are not at their desks or on the shop floor, they’re not working. So, conventional wisdom insists that training be swift and singularly focused in order to be effective. Corporate training, therefore, has been centered on new skills for higher-productivity. This is consistent with an archaic, Frederick Taylor-style school of Scientific Management. Unfortunately, this traditional view of corporate training doesn’t allow much room for the transformation of the individual.

Transformational Training

In large part, transformation has been the paradigm of higher education (and, of course, life experiences). Higher education opens people up to more than tactics, skills and vocations; at its best, schooling aims to produce thinking individuals (whatever that might mean).

To illustrate: Imagine a recent college graduate saying, "I got my bachelor’s degree and now I’m trained." Instead, people say, "I’m educated."

Although what being educated means is vague and highly debatable, it implies a transformation from one state of being to another – a crossover. In some respects, education and training have been at odds; one side is transformational while the other is more tactical and skill-based.

I see this as restrictive and lacking of imagination. I believe corporate training can allow for transformation. Actually, I believe today it has to. As the marketplace and economy changes, people are expected to be entrepreneurial, accountable, and self-managed. That requires transformational education. And most importantly, that's the kind of growth that everyone seeks. This provides a unique opportunity for the training world.

Not only do hoteliers deal with rapidly changing business environments and a dispersed workforce, but also they continue to deal with increasing costs, such as utilities, property taxes, and insurance. We all heard the concerns of the U.S. economy and many predict a slowdown. One thing is for sure, the hospitality industry is about to feel their share of the decline.

"Because of the extended slowdown of the U.S. economy, compounded by the negative consequences stemming from airline capacity cutbacks, we are now forecasting a 0.2 percent decline in lodging demand in 2008, followed by another loss of 1.1 percent in 2009."

- Mark Woodworth, president of PKF Hospitality Research

More and more hoteliers are turning to web-based training in a large effort to cut training costs and save money. Web-based training is a great means by which to educate the hotel staff and do it effectively. However, web-based training is only one ["part"] of ["a"] two prong strategy. Rather than simply developing training modules and hoping the staff has taken them, web-based training modules should be hosted on a Learning Management System (LMS) which allows for team collaboration, tracking of site usage, and ROI report generation. In this combined manner, hoteliers are hoping to offset the decline in profits by an increase in web-based training.

Learning Strategy Overview

The primary component of a Learning Strategy is a set of goals or objectives that need to be achieved around learning and development. There are several steps involved in generating a cohesive and comprehensive set of goals. The list of goals is generated using the following methods:

• Conduct a needs assessment
• Review training team readiness
• Obtain management direction

Elements of a Learning Strategy include:

• Technology
• Content
• Administration & Support
• Communication
• Financial Analysis

As you write your own strategy, the Venza Group recommends that you further research decision factors for each strategy element or hire a professional eLearning consultant to guide you through these business critical decisions. By ensuring that your strategy has all of these elements, you will be well on your way to implementing a successful, high quality, and profitable training program for your organization.

To learn more about how a Learning Strategy can help your organization, click here to download our white paper.