The enterprise-wide training initiative ties business skills courses to core competency areas such as customer focus, change management, communications, and leadership. Employees can take courses at their convenience from any computer with an Internet connection by accessing SkillPort, SkillSoft's e-learning management platform.

"Employees across North America now have the opportunity to take courses and learn new skills at a pace and schedule that suits their individual needs. By making learning more convenient, we expect to see a marked increase in the number of employees expanding and upgrading their skills," said Andrew Shields, CPR's vice president of human resources and industrial relations. "Our business will benefit as these employees quickly apply their newly learned skills on the job."

Prior to the SkillSoft agreement, business skills courses were available to CPR employees only in classroom settings, requiring more time away from the job and often inconveniencing employees, said Shields. Shift workers found it particularly difficult to schedule courses, which could not be scheduled until registration reached a minimum class size.

According to Shields, e-learning has reduced the amount of time required to cover course content - from two to three days of classroom time to about four hours of self-paced, web-based instruction - and has improved the consistency of training. "E-learning reduces our training costs while simultaneously making more training available to employees than ever before. We also get added benefit from our corporate investment in desktop technology," said Shields.
"Canadian Pacific Railway is a perfect example of how e-learning can bring consistent, quality training to thousands of employees across a continent," said Chuck Moran, president and CEO of SkillSoft. "And by relating learning to strategic initiatives, CPR is enhancing the value and relevancy of its training initiative."