Article

by Derek Ennis

In the late 1990s we were all told that the world was changing, that the New Economy had arrived, and that our lives were about to change forever. We were to have e-business, e-government, e-learning, e-commerce and e-banking. In the Internet era the key would be in B2B, B2C, P2P, G2C, and a host of other three letter acronyms.

In international trade, we were told that paper documents would disappear and would be replaced by electronic documents. The e-bill of lading was coming. Along with all the other electronic documents, these would fly around the virtual world being automatically checked and matched by automated document checking engines. Nothing would ever be the same again.

The reality

As we know, the reality was not quite so simple. The big-bang solutions were not adopted by the numbers of users that the Internet companies had predicted. The dot-com boom turned to bust and the excitement of the late 1990s was replaced by the realities of the 2000s.

However, progress did not end there. The technology companies that survived continued to make small advances, and gradually we all began to change the way we went about certain aspects of our lives.

Progress

One of the key success stories of the e-world was in the domain of e-learning. It has long been accepted that technology and automation are very effective at carrying out standardized and repetitive tasks while maintaining high levels of quality. This was perhaps best demonstrated in the 1970s by the introduction of robots in the Japanese motor industry.

It was soon recognized that similar benefits could be derived in the area of knowledge dissemination through computer-based training (CBT). The challenge in teaching many subjects was to deliver a message to a large audience, while always maintaining quality and consistency, and doing so at the lowest possible cost. Computers were found to be very good at this.

e-learning

Over time "CBT" was replaced by "e-learning", but the principles remained the same. The difference was that the arrival of the Internet greatly streamlined the process. Previously, training content had to be physically delivered to each computer, and there was no automated link back to the source of the training. But with the arrival of the World Wide Web, trainees could access training content remotely and review it at their own pace. There was no longer a need to install software on each machine, and the content was available anywhere with Internet access.

Two-way traffic

The Internet also allowed for two-way traffic. Instead of delivering courseware and hoping the trainee would succeed in learning, there was now a possibility of real two-way communication. Progress and results could be automatically reported back up the line to the training managers. Trainees could ask questions and receive replies during the course of the training, and could interact with other trainees deployed in remote locations.

Broadband

In the early years of Internet-delivered e-learning, there were a number of limitations due to Internet access speeds. For true global delivery of training the content of courses had to be built in a way that they could be delivered over slow, dial-up telephone connections, as well as over high-speed fibre optic cables. This placed a limit on the practical use that could be made of sound, video and animations for example.

But in recent years the improvements in both the telecoms infrastructure worldwide and in compression techniques for course developers have meant that much richer training can now be delivered to most parts of the world. This will only continue to improve.

Case study - UpSkill 600

The drafting and ratification of the UCP 600 produced a real challenge in training terms for the letter of credit industry, and in particular for banks. The period from ratification in October 2006 to implementation in July 2007 was only eight months. In this short time, banks needed to source or create a training programme for all relevant staff members. The quality of the content of the training was one key consideration, but another was the problem of transmitting a consistent message to all staff members across the organization. In some cases, this meant fewer than ten staff members but, at the other end of the scale, it meant thousands of people.

On top of this, the training managers needed some kind of audit mechanism to ensure that everyone had completed the training up to a satisfactory standard. And of course, the staff were expected to keep up with their day-to-day work while the training went on.

The solution

In response to the above, Coastline Solutions developed UpSkill 600, an online training course in UCP 600 specifically targeted at staff members who were already working with UCP 500. The quality of the content was assured by working with Gary Collyer, the Chair of the UCP 600 Drafting Group and Technical Adviser to the ICC Banking Commission.

The advances in technology allowed us to use a combination of text, graphics, sound and video to deliver a true multimedia offering. Each trainee could take the course at his pace, and could schedule the training around the day-to-day work load. Indeed, many users continue to access the course materials on an ongoing basis as a support tool.

Training managers were reassured that each trainee was receiving exactly the same message, and none of this was being diluted or lost through delivery from one person to another. And through the use of an Administration Console, managers at various levels could monitor the progress and completion of the course by their staff, as well as comparing results across the organization where appropriate.

Results

The first courses were delivered on 1 November 2006, and since that date over 8000 people worldwide have used the course to train in UCP 600. Feedback from users has been extremely positive, and as we have visited banks over the past year, we have seen many UpSkill 600 certificates proudly displayed on office walls.

New developments

The success of the UpSkill 600 course in bridging the gap from UCP 500 to UCP 600 encouraged many banks to consider other training needs, and in particular to train new staff, as well as existing staff who have not had structured training in trade finance.

Mentor 600, our basic course in L/Cs and UCP 600, and our collections online training course, are becoming the standard online training courses in the industry.

Coastline is currently working on two new courses. The first is an advanced L/C training course, aimed at experienced staff in the letter of credit business, and the second is a course on standbys and guarantees. Both of these courses are planned for launch in September 2008, and we have already received a high level of interest in both.

Derek Ennis is CEO of Coastline Solutions in Ireland. His e-mail is Derek.Ennis@coastlinesolutions.com. For more information about UpSkill 600 and upcoming online training programmes, see www.coastlinesolutions.com