In the heart of Italy in Castel Guelfo (BO), you will also find the “heart” of the educational structure of the Chloride Group, a multinational company registered with the London Stock Exchange and leader in secure power solutions. Breaking new ground in the sector, the Academy represents the innovative capacity of Chloride and aims to improve the internal skills, knowledge and competencies which create the unique company culture.

Bologna, May 8, 2007

Corporate Universities are a recent phenomena which, until a few years ago, were not so common in Italy due to the industrial structure of the country, consisting of a high percentage of small and medium enterprises and thus not favouring the birth of internal professional education. Recently, some companies have recognized the value of the professional growth of their personnel for the improvement of their business and have created structures for internal educational. 

Chloride, following established initiatives for customer satisfaction and a high level of service and innovation for their solutions, has accelerated this process and has created the Chloride Academy, the first Corporate University in the Secure Power sector.

The “heart” of the Chloride Academy is in Italy, more precisely in Castel Guelfo near Bologna, within the UPS division of the Chloride Group, a multinational company registered in the London Stock Exchange and a leader in secure power solutions for “mission critical” systems (uninterruptible power supply, inverters, converters, conditioning systems, etc.). This base provides a central structure where the development strategies for professional growth of the entire group are defined, which has other business branches in Brazil, Argentina, the United States, Russia, Turkey, Dubai, India, Thailand, China, and Australia.

The Academy represents the innovative capacity of Chloride, a strategy which adds value to human resources, giving potential to the corporate processes and solutions which, in turn, return value to the clients. This demonstrates a distinct action of business continuity, inclined to understand the importance of the educational growth of the individual according to the defined method.

Why an Academy?
Corporate Universities, usually defined as structures of managerial or technical education created within companies, have diverse development methods: school, college, or academy. Chloride has decided to articulate the educational activity through an Academy rather than the other types, as it suggests a more proactive role, or rather one that contributes to the corporate strategies and creates a knowledge backbone for the entire company. Furthermore, the Academy fosters the creation of value, in terms of research and development of new knowledge, then allowing for the sharing of this knowledge.
The overall principles of the Chloride Academy are, in fact, those of increasing the current “know-how” of the company, giving value to the uniqueness and differences of the individual and spreading it throughout the entire group through unified programs which are available to everyone, anyplace, and anytime.

The Organizational Structure
The Chloride Academy is directed by Roberta Gentile, a manager with over ten years’ experience in the field of higher education, responsible for coordinating and applying the directives of the Academy Council. The council is composed of international managers that cover strategic roles in the group and is presided over by Keith Hodgkinson, CEO of the Chloride Group and Dean of the Chloride Academy. The council has the function of coordinating the corporate strategies and the educational activity of the institution, nominating the members of the Technical Committee, and collecting information regarding the educational needs from the entire Chloride group and prioritizing the actions for the future.
The specialized Technical Committees, composed of trained experts from the Chloride groups around the world, develop the training programs for the specific professional groups, bringing the distinct competencies and areas of expertise from the local branches. The teaching staff is mostly internal, created by international instructors who are prepared and trained in-house. The instructors share their knowledge with the “students”, bringing them to a full understanding of the various modules, monitoring their learning, providing additional information, discussing and resolving problems, and offering practical help, advice, and assistance, thus fulfilling the role of a tutor accompanying them also as they enter the “working world”.

Courses and teaching method
The preparation and teaching of the courses takes place in Italy within the central headquarters of the Academy. They are developed according to the requirements of specific professional areas and can be either obligatory or created upon request. The principal teaching areas which have been established thus far are:

• Chloride Business Model. This module will provide an overview of the world Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) market, discussing challenges, drivers, restraints and competition in detail.
• Pre-sales. This module will guide candidates through two possible sections, basic and advanced, to acquire the basic competencies they will need in their line of work. Candidates will also be introduced to the selection criterion for UPS systems and techniques for battery selection sizing.
• Sales. This module will guide candidates through a general presentation of the entire UPS portfolio and also will present a competitive analysis of the various products. The candidates will also be introduced to the various applications (energy, retail, finance, manufacturing, etc.).
• Post-sales. This module will enable candidates to gain a full understanding of all aspects which are important in operating, maintaining and servicing UPS, such as use and installation, analyzing faults, environmental issues, and safety.

The lessons are both theoretical and practical, combining both classroom learning and distance learning through an e-learning platform. Innovative teaching methods are used, such as “learning by doing”, which includes many participation exercises. Among the other instruments used, chat rooms, newsgroups, and forums are available through the dedicated on-line platform to provide incentive for student participation and involvement.
Activities such as tutoring and mentoring take place on-line, allowing for the students to be accompanied throughout their professional growth with a simple transfer of experience and knowledge from senior to junior.

The initial activities
The first step of the Chloride Academy is the definition of the best practices present within the group and the mapping of the knowledge and competencies of the company, allowing for an effective creation and development of the educational courses. Before long, the first educational course will begin for the instructors in order to fully communicate and share the goals and contents, the philosophy of the Academy, and the teaching contents. Shortly thereafter, the first pre-sales course will begin, involving over 50 employees of the group.

The advantages of the Chloride Academy
• Direct access to the most up-to-date knowledge in the field and the most advanced learning techniques and services available today
• Cohesive training programmes providing knowledge which is accessible up, down and across the entire company
• Practical learning techniques integrated with everyday working activities
• Ongoing lifelong training which can accompany candidates throughout all stages of their professional careers and development
• Monitoring of training curricula and programmes with continuous feedback/measurement of results
• Services and contents which are tailored and personalized to suit individual needs
• Maximum efficiency in the management of the learning cycle.

Goals and objectives
The Academy is aimed towards the 1,500 employees of the Chloride Group, yet it also is open to give the same educational opportunities to the 4,500 employees of the various business partners.

The short-term goal of the Academy will involve over 1,500 people in the educational activity around the world, guaranteeing each year:

• the education of 300 people around the world through long-term educational courses with blended learning;
• the education of 500 people with week-long classroom courses;
• over 1,000 hours of on-line education through the e-learning platform.