Findcourses.co.uk named top player in EdTech for second year running

Educations.com Media Group (EMG), parent company of Findcourses.co.uk,
has once again been selected as one of the fastest growing and most innovative
e-learning companies in Europe. The EdTech 20 ranking is organised by education
technology company Edxus Group in partnership with specialist media investment
advisory firm IBIS capital.

“We were extremely proud when we received this award last
year. To win it twice in a row is just fantastic!”, says Mattias Säker, CEO of EMG’s
further education business unit, FindCourses Global.

Evaluated in terms of their growth and innovation potential,
the 2014 entries to EdTech Europe ranking were received from over 100 companies
from across 15 European countries. Of these, 20 were shortlisted and named the
frontrunners in the European education technology landscape by an expert panel
including representatives from Pearson, TSL and Emerge Education.

EMG is one of just three companies to have received the
award for the second year running.

The goal behind the awards is to highlight and promote key
players in the education technology arena, shedding light on new trends and how
these affect Europe’s ability to compete in the global market. In 2014, the
most notable of these are the rise of the virtual classroom, language learning
and tools for enhancing workplace and
professional industry training. FindCourses Global continues to work on
this front, developing an expanding portfolio of web-based resources focused on
helping professionals an HR departments across all industries find the right
professional development solutions for their needs. These include a number of
country-specific course search engines – including Findcourses.co.uk – as well
as online advice & guidance services and the tailor-made corporate training
procurement solution referred to as FindCourses PRO.

The
Educations.com Media Group operates across Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark,
Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, France, Russia and the USA,
helping over 16 million users find
training each year. 

Findcourses.co.uk works to make Learning at Work Week 2014 celebrations better than ever

Now occupying a full seven days, Learning at Work (LAW) Week 2014 is
giving thousands of organisations across the country the opportunity to take
part in a national celebration of lifelong learning. Whether large
corporations, SMEs, government departments or public sector organisations, the
week-long initiative is targeted at workplaces
of all shapes and sizes in recognition of the key role that they play in
creating cultures of learning that have positive spillover effects in other
areas of society. Revolving around the theme “Learning Connections”, this
year’s edition is designed to reflect the changing nature of learning &
development and highlight how workplaces can take advantage of new approaches
& tools to encourage employee learning in the working environment.

Now in the third year of its partnership with the Campaign for Learning
(CfL), Findcourses.co.uk continues to play an
active role in the promotion of the LAW Week to raise awareness of the campaign
throughout its user base, which includes a combination of HR professionals,
L&D practitioners, training providers and individuals. Indeed, it this strategic
position at the crux of the supply and demand sides of the training sector – between
the individuals and organisations that deliver training and those that consume
it – that puts Findcourses.co.uk in an ideal position to foster collaboration
when it comes to a common goal: lifelong learning. With this in mind,
Findcourses.co.uk not only
collects and advertises special LAW Week activities being organised by
training providers across the UK, but also operates a bespoke match-making
service to put organisations looking to schedule LAW Week events in touch
with training companies willing to offer their services for the occasion. This allows
HR and L&D professionals to maximise the benefits of LAW Week in terms of
demonstrating the value of workplace learning to their staff, while
simultaneously building connections across the training sector to the present
and future advantage all involved.

Companies taking part can enter their LAW events in the Learning
at Work Week Awards, which are sub-divided into three categories: Best
Event for Promoting a Learning Culture, Best Event for Nurturing Talent and
Best Event for Working in Partnership.

Press Contact: Cecilia Razelli
cecilia.razelli@findcourses.co.uk
+44(0)203 318 6280

Findcourses.co.uk is part of the Educations.com
Media Group, which operates across Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Germany, the
United Kingdom, the Netherlands, France, Russia and the USA, helping over 16
million users find training each year. Findcourses.co.uk also publishes an annual Training
Barometer that provides an overall analysis of the developments seen on the
market during the previous year as well as an outlook for the future.

Findcourses.co.uk to exhibit at CIPD L&D Show in London

Formerly known as HRD, the CIPD L&D Shown is the UK’s leading Learning & Development event, boasting over 100 exhibitors and 3,400+ visitors including senior L&D decision makers as well as HR professionals.

As ever, the goal is to provide
a showcase for the innovative new solutions being offered in HR-related fields,
spanning a range of specific sub-areas from L&D to organisational development
(OD), leadership development, learning & talent development and technology
for learning. And this is achieved by combining a free Exhibition, populated by providers of different development-focused
services and products, with a Conference
portion of the event, which involves a number of paid seminars delivered by
leading industry professionals. Perhaps most importantly, the event also
provides a rare and highly valuable opportunity for HR and L&D
professionals to network with one another, drawing inspiration and best
practice examples from industry peers.

In this
context, Findcourses.co.uk will be participating in the event as a provider of
a range of services dedicated to helping training buyers – including HR
Managers, L&D professionals and individuals – source the right training providers and professional development
opportunities for their needs. Foremost among these is the Findcourses.co.uk website,
which remains the core of the company’s offering with a growing database of over 12,000 professional development
courses. Partnered with The Independent
and the London Evening Standard, this
makes it the UK’s largest search engine dedicated to professional development,
reaching a large and rapidly growing number of users each month. The ultimate
goal: to give every visitor the possibility of finding, comparing and receiving
additional information about an extensive range of UK-based courses. In
addition to spanning virtually all industries and sectors, from Leadership
Development to Human Resources and Oil & Gas, Findcourses.co.uk also covers
different delivery methods, listing open courses as well as in-house providers
and a vast array of e-learning programmes.

Another growing focus is FindCourses
PRO – a customised training procurement
solution developed ad hoc for clients looking to reduce thecosts associated with purchasing training by streamlining and centralising the buying process. Traditionally
intended for large organisations making frequent training purchases, the
solution is entirely customisable (in terms of design as well as having access
to existing framework agreements), while providing access to a multitude of
additional providers & discounts and significantly reducing administrative
costs. What is new in 2014 is the recently launched PRO Lite: an off-the-shelf
solution that makes all of these benefits accessible to smaller
organisations by providing a ready-made version of a standard PRO training
portal. Geared directly towards HR and L&D departments, it is thus an ideal
tool for small- to medium-sized companies preferring a web-based booking system
that is immediately ready for use.

In addition, Findcourses.co.uk
will be promoting national Learning at
Work Week (previously Learning at Work Day), due to take place between 19^th-25^th
May with the theme “Learning Connections” with the goal of putting the
spotlight of the importance of workplace learning and development. Working in
partnership with the Campaign for Learning for the third year running,
Findcourses.co.uk will be doing its part to raise awareness of the initiative
and confirm its support of workplace learning with a dedicated match-making service. This will put
organisations looking to host a LAW Week event in contact with training companies
willing to offer their services free-of-charge, with the goal of generating
greater interest and commitment to workplace development among staff, as well
as building bridges between providers and consumers of training across the
country.
Interested companies and providers will be able to leave their contact details directly
at Stand 110.

Press Contact: Cecilia Razelli
cecilia.razelli@findcourses.co.uk
+44(0)203 318 6280

Findcourses.co.uk is part of the Educations.com
Media Group, which operates across Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Germany, the
United Kingdom, the Netherlands, France, Russia and the USA, helping over 16
million users find training each year. Findcourses.co.uk also publishes an annual Training
Barometer that provides an overall analysis of the developments seen on the
market during the previous year as well as an outlook for the future.

Findcourses.co.uk exhibits at Learning & Skills 2014

On Wednesday 29^th and Thursday 30^th
January, Findcourses.co.uk attended the
2014 edition of the Learning and Skills exhibition at Olympia 2 in London. In
its fifth year as Europe’s foremost event dedicated to workplace development,
Learning and Skills 2014 once again partnered with the Learning Technologies
exhibition and conference in a bid to cover the full spectrum of products,
methods and services being made available for modern professional development. With over 6,000 visitors, 230
exhibitors and 140 free seminars, the event provided a multi-faceted and
vibrant environment in which training companies, solutions providers and HR and
L&D professionals came together to discuss the training challenges they
face and share best practice methods of tackling them in a demanding business
environment.

In this context, Findcourses.co.ukparticipated in the event as a provider of a range of services
dedicated to helping training buyers – including HR Managers, L&D
professionals and individuals – source the right training providers and
professional development opportunities for their needs. First among these is
the Findcourses.co.uk website, which, listing over 11,000 courses taking place across the UK, is the country’s leading search engine dedicated to
professional development, partnered with both The Independent and
the London Evening Standard.

This is then supported by Findcourses.co.uk’s
long-standing Training
Quote Service, which facilitates the search & buying processes by
allowing users to contact Findcourses.co.uk advisors with their training needs,
and then receive detailed, relevant quotes directly from the training providers
that are able to meet their requirements. This unique service fulfils the
double purpose of saving HR and L&D professionals time, by virtually
eliminating the need to find and compare training options, and of saving money
by guaranteeing that they receive the most competitive quotes.

Finally, Findcourses.co.uk has taken the foundational
principles of these two services and combined them with an innovative
technological platform to develop FindCourses PRO: a professional
training procurement solution that takes the form of a customised portal
integrated directly into an organisation’s intranet. Using Findcourses.co.uk’s
extensive database of suppliers and courses, while simultaneously including
company-specific framework agreements and discounts, this streamlined solution
provides extensive cost savings by dramatically reducing administrative
burdens, centralising the procurement process in a single, easy-to-use system.

The response received from the many visitors to the
Findcourses.co.uk stand confirmed that this portfolio of services continues to
be of extreme interest and relevance in a training industry that, in becoming
increasingly varied and technology-based, is also becoming more difficult to
navigate. More specifically, the feedback given by the HR professionals
participating in the event pointed to a real need for a “connector” between
providers and consumers of training that matches the needs of both parties to
produce win-win results. And this is precisely the role that Findcourses.co.uk
has taken on, acting as a bridge between the two sides in pursuit of one ultimate
goal: to help every user find the right professional development solution, be
it for themselves or their staff.

This vision is inherited from FindCourses Global AB,
parent company of Findcourses.co.uk, which operates across Sweden, Finland,
Denmark, Germany and the United Kingdom to help over 500,000 users find
training each month. FindCourses Global is in turn part of the Educations.com
Media Group (EMG), the leading provider of education marketing in Northern
Europe.

Press Contact: Cecilia Razelli
cecilia.razelli@findcourses.co.uk
+44(0)203 318 6280

Findcourses.co.uk is the
UK’s largest search engine dedicated to Professional Development,
allowing users to search, find and compare thousands of training courses
in the UK. Findcourses.co.uk is partnered with The Independent and the London Evening Standard and powers their Training & Courses Guides, providing a search service to hundreds of thousands of users every month.

SquareOne Training celebrates 21st birthday with special offer for closed group bookings

Happy 21st birthday to SquareOne Training! A leading provider of flexible computer skills courses, SquareOne has been working with Findcourses.co.uk since 2011, listing their portfolio of open and in-house courses on our professional development search engine to reach users searching for training in their area of expertise.
Over the years, this relationship has seen us at Findcourses.co.uk help many a user and company find the ideal IT training solution across a range of sub-topics including Excel, web design, CAD and others.

Speaking about Findcourses.co.uk in December 2012, Managing Director Lisa McGinley said:

“Since joining Findcourses.co.uk we have received a large number enquiries, many of which have converted into course bookings. This has resulted in SquareOne forming countless new business partnerships with many companies. […] Each and every member of the team is enthusiastic and a pleasure to work with. In short, Findcourses.co.uk has become an essential part of our marketing strategy and we look forward to working with them to achieve future success.”

As a result of the growing success they have seen over the past 21 years, SquareOne are offering a discount to anyone who quotes Birthday21 when booking a closed course with them. The offer is valid for a limited period so if IT training is on your to-do list, get in touch with SquareOne now and claim your discount!

Discounts apply to closed Microsoft courses booked before 31.10.2013.

Jumpstart Your Career in Marketing with a Qualification from The IDM

The Institute of Direct and Digital Marketing are the UK’s leading training organisation for marketers that delivers a comprehensive curriculum of open courses, in house training and professional qualifications at all levels. Findcourses.co.uk welcomes The IDM on board with a fresh offer of professional courses and qualifications at Award, Certificate and Diploma levels.

The advantages of training with The IDM are acknowledged by the leading brands around the world that consolidated their marketing approach by training with The IDM. A results-oriented approach to in-company Marketing training has been at the core of the instructors’ agenda. By looking at the marketers’ existing skillset, their objectives and the organisation they represent, The IDM tailor the content of their in house courses to best suit the bigger vision of the company. The results delivered through this 5 step approach are unparalleled across the industry.

 1. Explore, identify and understand: Before starting the course, The IDM will outline the training objectives together with you and work with you to understand your precise strategic goals.

2. Define, assess and prioritise: By performing a capabilities audit in your firm, The IDM instructors will assess the skills gaps that exist among your staff.

3. Analyse and recommend: Your training needs are reviewed and a strategic development plan submitted for your approval

4. Deliver: Experienced trainers at The IDM will deliver practical training that’s focused on your specific objectives

5. Track and measure effectiveness: You will receive a clear evaluation and assessment of how the training has improved the marketing capabilities among your team, and it will guide your towards further improving performance in your team

Choose an in house training solution from The IDM and keep yourself updated with the benefits of a membership to The Institute of Direct and Digital Marketing. View their profile on Findcourses.co.uk and send an information request

Findcourses.co.uk hosts exclusive networking event for HR and L&D professionals

On 12^th September 2013, Findcourses.co.uk –
part of the FindCourses Global group of companies –  will be organising its first UK event
dedicated to HR and L&D professionals. Taking advantage of the parent
company’s Swedish roots [FindCourses
Global was founded in Sweden, where it continues to have its main offices
today], the event will be hosted in collaboration with the Swedish Chamber
of Commerce in London at the prestigious Radisson Blu Edwardian Hampshire Hotel
in Leicester Square.

The main goal of the one-off event, which is the first
of its kind organised by the team, is to give target users of the Findcourses.co.uk
search engine and their peers from the Chamber’s business membership the
valuable opportunity to network, discuss and share common problems related to
staff training, as well as best practice examples. The evening will begin with
an introduction by Mattias Säker, CEO of FindCourses Global, who will present
current trends in the training industry as monitored by the FindCourses
European network, revealing how and where companies are investing in
professional training, as well as highlighting projections for the future. In
response to recent research outlining the large proportion of employees across
the UK who report having to work during their free time, it will then feature
an exclusive time management workshop, delivered by training company FranklinCovey
on the basis of their award-winning “The 5 Choices to Extraordinary Productivity”. This interactive session will be
a unique occasion for guests to sample and take away important insights from a
renowned time management programme, designed to tangibly increase productivity
by giving individuals, teams and entire organisations the knowledge to make
high-impact choices about how to invest their time and energy in the workplace.

Networking opportunities will follow in a dedicated 1.5 hour slot during which
drinks and snacks will be served.

The decision to host the event reflects a sound
commitment to helping users in HR, L&D and even Procurement positions find
solutions to their training problems, from finding the right courses and
providers to streamlining organisational training purchases. The occasion will
be an opportunity to confirm Findcourses.co.uk’s dedication to this mission and
to gain a new insight into the problems faced by training buyers, with a view
to developing the company’s products and services in a way that responds to
their needs even more effectively in the future.

Registration for the event is free for
Findcourses.co.uk users and Swedish Chamber of Commerce members. Seats are
limited and will be assigned on a first-come-first-served basis.

Findcourses.co.uk is the
UK’s largest search engine dedicated to Professional Development,
allowing users to search, find and compare thousands of training courses
in the UK. Findcourses.co.uk is partnered with The Independent and the London Evening Standard and powers their Training & Courses Guides, providing a search service to hundreds of thousands of users every month.

Findcourses.co.uk named among the top 20 e-learning companies in Europe

FindCourses Global, parent company of
Findcourses.co.uk, has been selected as one of Europe’s most innovative and
fastest growing e-learning companies in the EdTech 20 ranking. Organised by
education technology company Edxus Group, together with specialist media
investment and advisory firm IBIS capital, the awards will be officially presented
at the annual EdTech 20 Summit in London on 14^th June.

“To win this prize is absolutely fantastic! In the
past we have received Swedish awards such as the Gasellpriset from Dagens
Industri, but EdTech 20 is even bigger”, says Mattias Säker, CEO of FindCourses
Global.

Entries were received from across Europe and were evaluated by an
industry-leading panel in terms of innovation, market impact, scale and revenue
growth. “Our vision is simple – to help training buyers find the right training
solutions. We do this primarily through search engines, which exist in Sweden,
Norway, Denmark, Finland, Germany and the UK. As we expanded into these
markets, we didn’t try to build one overarching global brand but rather focused
on developing a local presence in each country, and I think this was the right
choice”, Säker continues.

“But we are continuing to grow and develop, and our
tailor made training portals – branded FindCourses PRO – are a perfect example
of this. Our plan is to become a one billion crown company in the next 5
years”.

Säker will be attending the EdTech 20 Summit at the London
Business School to receive the award on Friday 14^th June.

Findcourses.co.uk is the
UK’s largest search engine dedicated to Professional Development,
allowing users to search, find and compare thousands of training courses
in the UK. Findcourses.co.uk partnered with The Independent and the London Evening Standard and powers their Training & Courses Guides, providing a search service to hundreds of thousands of users every month.

Findcourses.co.uk supports Learning at Work Day 2013

On 23^rd
May workplaces all across the UK, including corporations, SMEs, public sector
organisations and government departments, celebrated Learning at Work (LAW)
Day, the national event dedicated to the promotion of learning and development
in the workplace. Organised by the Campaign for Learning as part of Adult
Learners’ Week, the theme of this year’s edition – the 14^th since
its inception in 1999 – was ‘Many Ways to Learn’, dedicated to highlighting the
many different formats in which continuous workplace development can be secured
in support of an organisation’s overall goals.

For the
second year running, Findcourses.co.uk worked in national partnership with the
Campaign for Learning to help raise awareness of the event and to use its
experience in the sector to encourage both companies and training organisations
to support the initiative. As part of this activity, Findcourses.co.uk built on
the success stories of 2012 and once again offered a “match-making” service
dedicated to putting HR and L&D Professionals interested in organising an
event in contact with trainers looking to contribute by providing seminars,
taster sessions and workshops to their staff. “Essentially, the match-making
service we offer for Learning at Work Day is an extension of what we do all
day, every day” said Kate Butterworth, Site Manager at Findcourses.co.uk. “Our
job is to help those looking for training to find and contact the right
providers in order to advance their professional development. For Learning at
Work Day, we just extended that concept and applied it on a bigger scale in
support of a really important national initiative. We listened to the companies
that contacted us, understood the skills and areas they were looking to develop
among their staff, and got them in touch with providers that could deliver
suitable workshops and taster sessions for their LAW Day”, she continued.

Initial
reports indicate positive reactions on the part of the providers, companies
and, most importantly, the employees that took part in the LAW Day activities
themselves. “From our own and others’ research, we have seen time and time
again that training and professional development opportunities are absolutely
crucial factors in maintaining high levels of job satisfaction across different
industries. Learning at Work Day is a fun way for organisations to show their
employees that they are committed to providing these opportunities and serious
about investing in their human resources in the long-term”, continued
Butterworth.

In other
areas of the country, a series of events organised by companies, training
providers and national partners of the Campaign for Learning – including The
Open University’s ‘Inspiring Learning’ Award and The Science Museum’s workshops
on the future of digital and countless other activities – contributed to making
the 2013 edition of Learning at Work Day a rich, fun and valuable celebration
of professional development. The hope is that increasing awareness of such
events will contribute to the creation of a true culture of workplace learning
that will help UK organisations, and the country overall, fill critical skills
gaps and maintain a competitive edge in an increasingly demanding global
market.

Press Contact: Kate Butterworth
kate.butterworth@findcourses.co.uk
+44(0)203 318 6283

Findcourses.co.uk is the UK’s largest search engine dedicated to Professional Development, allowing users to search, find and compare thousands of training courses in the UK. Findcourses.co.uk partnered with The Independent and the London Evening Standard and powers their Training & Courses Guides, providing a search service to hundreds of thousands of users every month.

Get your IT training for less: visit Findcourses.co.uk at CIPD HRD 2013

IT skills have become increasingly important for professionals across virtually any industry and, with the way technology is developing, they are only likely to become more so in the future. Proficiency in the Microsoft Office suite is still arguably one the most valuable among these, but with the range of courses now available across the UK, it can be hard to choose between them, particularly if you are looking for a training experience that suits your employees’ needs perfectly.

Luckily if it’s tailored IT training and consultancy you’re looking for, we’re giving you one last reason why you should drop by Findcourses.co.uk’s stand, number 509, at the CIPD HRD 2013 Exhibition and Conference tomorrow or Thursday: Appetite for Learning, one of the UK’s leading Learning Consultancies, is offering a 10% discount to anyone booking training through us on occasion of HRD.

How does it work, you ask? It’s really quite simple.

Step 1: Drop by to see Findcourses.co.uk at Olympia on Wednesday April 24^th or Thursday April 25^th.

Step 2: Take a quick snapshot of our stand, no. 509.

Step 3: Upload the picture to your Twitter account with the hashtag #feedyourbrain.

The discount is valid for any course title available on Appetite’s Findcourses.co.uk profile – Microsoft Office, Visio, Powerpoint, Sharepoint, Infopath, Access, Excel, Word, Project – that is booked for a minimum of 4 delegates.

Don’t have a Twitter account? Not to worry, you can e-mail your picture to Appetite for Learning directly at hello@appetiteforlearning.co.uk.

So come by to say hello and make your choice of IT training provider a little easier; we’ll be waiting, smiles at the ready.