Client: UNICEF
Beneficiary: Institute for Social Activities Macedonia
Industry: Social Protection
Challenge:
UNICEF is a global agency of the United Nations responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to children worldwide specially to give every child a childhood, a future and a fair chance.
As part of their activities, UNICEF Macedonia in close collaboration with the Institute for Social Care in Macedonia are contributing to digitalize the whole process of implementation of activities for professional development and procedure for licensing of professional social workers in the area of social protection.
The challenge for the Institute for Social Activities was to effectively facilitate the education and training of professionals employed in social protection institutions and other social service providers located along the country.
The organization faced a significant challenge in providing effective training to its widely dispersed workforce across the country. Traditional training methods, such as in-person training sessions and workshops, were found to be inefficient due to the considerable time and resources required to coordinate and manage them. Additionally, the logistics costs associated with organizing these training sessions were high, leading to a significant financial burden on the organization. Furthermore, the production of printed training materials had a negative impact on the environment, leading to concerns about sustainability and corporate social responsibility. As a result, there was a pressing need to develop a more effective, cost-efficient, and sustainable training solution that could be accessed remotely by employees across the country.
Strategy & Solution:
The organization decided to own a perpetual license of a digital platform for distance learning to address the challenge of providing effective training to its widely dispersed workforce. The e-platform was designed to provide remote access to training materials, reducing the need for in-person training sessions and associated logistical costs. Additionally, it was designed to be environmentally sustainable, reducing the need for printed training materials.
EPISTUM eLearning team developed a customized digital platform for distance learning that included the following components:
- Cloud-based E-PLATFORM Platform: Allowing employees to access training materials from any location, using any device with an internet connection.
- Interactive and Multimedia Content: The e-platform content was designed to be interactive, engaging, and easy to understand. Multimedia elements, such as videos and animations, were included to enhance the learning experience.
- User-friendly interface: The e-platform had an intuitive and user-friendly interface that made it easy for social workers to navigate and access training modules.
- Personalized Learning Paths: The e-platform included personalized learning paths for social workers, based on their job roles and training requirements. This allowed employees to focus on the training materials that were most relevant to their work.
- Course categories: A directory that contains related courses. This allowed learners and administrators to quickly and easily organize and manage courses.
- Virtual Instructor-led Training (VILT): The e-platform included virtual instructor-led training sessions, which were conducted online through video conferencing. This allowed employees to participate in live training sessions without the need for in-person meetings.
- Learning Analytics and Statistics: The e-platform included learning analytics, which allowed the organization to track employee progress and identify areas for improvement in the training program. Additionally, it includes statistically processed data.
- Gamification: The e-platform included gamification elements, such as quizzes and certificates, to increase engagement and motivation among employees.
Additionally, the EPISTUM eLearning team has designed and delivered 11 eLearning modules using H5P interactive e-course tool within the platform.
Structure of eLearning modules:
- Slides are arranged linearly with clear indications for moving forward and backward;
- E-courses are fully responsive, even in devices with touch screens;
- Simple text display, images, graphics, and interactive text display (flip cards, click to open buttons, questions, etc.) are used to present information and check knowledge.
Results
The development of the digital platform for distance learning has resulted in several positive outcomes for the organization. These include:
- Improved accessibility: With the cloud-based platform, employees can access training materials from any location, making it easier for them to participate in training and develop their skills.
- Reduced costs: The digital platform has reduced the need for in-person training sessions and associated logistical costs such as travel and accommodation. This has resulted in significant cost savings for the organization.
- Sustainability: The digital platform has reduced the need for printed training materials, making the training program more environmentally sustainable.
- Increased engagement: The interactive and multimedia content, as well as gamification elements, have increased engagement and motivation among employees, making the training program more effective.
- Personalized learning: The personalized learning paths and course categories have made it easier for employees to focus on the training materials that are most relevant to their job roles and training requirements.
- Learning analytics: The inclusion of learning analytics has allowed the organization to track employee progress and identify areas for improvement in the training program. This has enabled the organization to continuously improve the effectiveness of its training program.
The e-platform is used by 370 learners, from which 295 are women and 75 are male from 66 different social providers and social protection institutions across the country.
If asked to rate their likelihood of recommending our product to their friends and colleagues on a scale from 1 to 10 (extremely likely), the client gave us a rating of 10.