A SCHEME to help business people gain qualifications through e-learning has been launched across much of rural Devon. The £444,000 Delta project will help 120 small and medium sized businesses get to grips with e-learning by visiting them in or near their places of work and training them in the use of e-learning technologies, and demonstrating the benefits of this method of learning. The project will deliver a wide range of training aimed at improving the skills of both workforce and management, and will include courses in maths and English, customer service, management, IT qualifications and specially designed courses. The project is funded by Learndirect and Devon Renaissance, the rural regeneration partnership organisation for the county. The face-to-face help and training alongside the online learning is being delivered by the North Devon Pathfinder Trust across North Devon, Torridge, and the northern part of West Devon, and by Acom Business Services across South Hams and the southern part of West Devon, including Tavistock. George Curry of North Devon Pathfinder Trust said: 'By helping business people to understand how to access e-learning they can improve their skills and so compete better with businesses in urban areas which have much better access to training. 'It is often difficult for rural businesses to get to conventional training establishments to learn the skills necessary to access e-learning. With better skills rural businesses can be more productive and better able to react to market changes.' Liz Abell, programme co-ordinator for Devon Renaissance, which is putting £132,000 into the project, said:'The Delta project will improve the competitiveness of rural businesses and will help them overcome the barriers of rural isolation. 'We want these businesses to develop a culture of learning and increasing their skills, which in turn will help the economies of the communities in which they operate.'
