Flying high

E.learning Age, Jun 2007 by Carruth, Jenny

Over the next few months well be looking at the 2006 E-Learning Award Winners. This month we are looking at the winner of the most tangible project ROI, ebc and Virgin Atlantic Airways. Here's their story.This series is supported by e-skills UK.

Virgin Atlantic Airways (VAA) wanted to change how the Service, Aviation Medicine and Safety Equipment Procedures (SEP) element of its Cabin Crew Training was delivered by creating a blended e-learning element for the programme. Having only used e-learning in its main business once before, VAA hoped that this new idea would answer current challenges and ensure that it would continue to grow without having to increase costs in this area.

The result for VAA and ebc was beyond thier original expectations. By using a blend of e-learning within its recruitment training, VAA has saved thousands of pounds, utilised its time and has succeeded in having a significantly increased recruitment pass percentage rate.

Getting started

In March 2005 VAA went into competitive tender for the programme and selected ebc (now part of Futuremedia). VAA set itself a list of objectives using a template to fulfil the aims of the e-learning programme. VAA wanted the recruits to:

* Understand the regulations and procedures relating to passenger safety, the aircraft and other crew.

* Know about the checks and procedures that apply at different stages of the flight.

* Know how to react to certain situations, where these regulations or procedures are compromised.

Bringing the brand to life

Renowned for its recruits' belief and enthusiasm for the brand, VAA wanted to capitalise on this idea by making sure that this was carried through into the look and feel of the programme and interface.

Ebc designed an interface incorporating three themes to help give new recruits that rush of excitement when joining a global airline, in many cases fulfilling a long-held ambition. The themes are:

* The Virgin wings; these wings are the badge of honour recruits are given when they pass out of training and move on to operational service. The wings are on the corner of every screen throughout the training as a reminder of what they are aiming towards.

* The cockpit interface; the screen is designed around a 747 cockpit with functional buttons and switches that influence how the e-learning operates.

* Blue skies all the way, the background to each screen is a blue sky like that seen from an aircraft, giving recruits a sense of excitement around travel.

The challenge

VAA recruit and train approximately 1,200 new cabin crew staff each year. The staff are drawn from any country worldwide, with the requirement that they are able to speak English fluently.

Each new recruit is required to complete a programme of training that takes 27 days, including elements on SEP before they receive their VM 'wings'. Audited by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) each year, VAA must retain records that show good knowledge competence for all cabin crew staff.

The SEP element of the course takes an extra 10 days to complete and requires recruits to go to VAA's training facility in Crawley.

Through the e-learning programme, VAA faced four challenges:

* To look at ways to get recruits trained and into the air quicker.

* There is a cost attached to recruits starting the course, but failing to complete it. Each course costs £3,000 per failure, which cost VAA in excess of £80,000 in 2005.

* To increase productivity. There is enormous pressure in this sector to increase productivity wherever possible to compensate for increases in fuel prices. Each training day costs £80 per recruit and £300 per course instructor team assigned to the recruits. With 1,200 recruits trained each year, everyday saved could make a significant impact on productivity.

* Financial pressures of keeping up with the frequently changing SEP regulations requires more time allocated to train staff.

Previous attempts to condense the training had resulted in higher failure rates and poor morale. Any new proposal had to avoid these issues and pay for itself within two years. The VAA wanted change but the current programme was seen as high quality by those who used or operated it. Coming up with an inventive way to deliver results was going to be tricky.

The big idea

Changing how the SEP element of Cabin Crew Training was delivered was VAA's main priority when creating a blended e-learning element of the programme. In a syllabus covering key SEP elements to be given to the recruits a fortnight before their training begins, a modular format covering flight safety regulations, turbulence, carriage of dangerous goods, flight controls and portable equipment would be given to the recruits to complete within four to six hours.

The recruits would be required to complete all sections of the SEP e-learning and obtain an 88 per cent pass prior to joining the new modified face-to-face course in Crawley. Thus reducing the face-to-face component of the SEP training in Crawley by 1.5 days per recruit and release valuable instructor time for other urgent courses.