Licenses available from HR-TD
A new professional development tool that Lab employees and subcontract personnel can use to find online courses, books and other skills-building tools is now available through Training and Development (HR-TD).
SkillPort is an online learning service that HR-TD launched in December 2004, with targeted groups throughout the Laboratory, according to Dolores Jacobs of HR-TD. For the remaining months of this pilot year, HR-TD still has user licenses available and is opening up registration on a first-come, first-served basis starting Thursday.
Staff from HR-TD will have an information kiosk set up in the second floor lobby of the Otowi Building from 7:30 to 9 a.m., and again from 11 a.m., to 1:30 p.m., on Thursday to demonstrate SkillPort and register new users. Lab personnel interested in SkillPort also can register for a license through the Virtual Training Center (course number 32500).
Michael Beauchamp of HR-TD, who coordinates implementation said Skillport provides users online professional development tools, including a digital library; access to online courses; a feature called “SkillBriefs,” concise summaries of more than 800 articles on key knowledge points; and simulations of 40 realistic, task-based exercises.
“SkillPort is a new and flexible approach to professional development at the Lab,” said Beauchamp. “During this pilot year, HR-TD is trying to determine how this service meets staff needs,” he said, adding that Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has been using Skillport for a number of years.
While there are a limited number of the licenses available from HR-TD for $172 per person, employees who purchase a license will have access to the online learning service for the remainder of the current Laboratory fiscal year and first option to purchase a license next year.
"If you send an employee to a single Microsoft Word class, the cost is around $300 per day, so paying $172 for the period through the end of the fiscal year is a terrific bargain,” said Jacobs. “Employees can complete several courses during that period. In addition, all courses are presented in 20-minute increments, so employees don't have to leave the office. This is an excellent way to upgrade staff skills at a very small cost.
“Although the online courses demonstrate the most obvious savings, a license provides a user access to many valuable digital tools and resources, especially a library of more than 7,000 professional books that are searchable and can be printed in sections,” Jacobs added.
Organizations who purchase a SkillPort license are encouraged to send feedback to HR-TR on ease of use, suggestions for improvement and other input, said Beauchamp.
For more information, contact the SkillPort Help Line at 7-5455 (66-SKILL) or write to skillport-help@lanl.gov by electronic mail. More information about SkillPort also is available on the SkillPort Web page online.
