Electronic learning (e-learning) design and development company The Training Room Online says that e-learning has the ability to improve efficiency and literacy and, in turn, improve the quality of life for mineworkers across Africa.

“If e-learning is correctly applied within the mining sector, time spent away from the job can be significantly reduced. Employees can also focus on specific areas, based on their individual needs,” says The Training Room founder and chairperson Kirsty Chadwick.

She adds that e-learning has the ability to overcome challenges using a combination of visual and auditory components to deliver a message, rather than simply using text on a page. “Designers are used to present concepts graphically, replacing paragraphs of difficult text with pictures, while animators create moving images to visually guide the learner through concepts, to virtually display how something works and moves,” says Chadwick.

E-learning provides a platform for two mining industry training cornerstones – measurability and sustainability. “As systems and procedures change, which is expected in the mining industry, the e-learning content can be updated accordingly,” says Chadwick.

Constantly changing compliance regula-tions mean that organisations need to invest in ongoing training and, in a tough economic climate, finding ways to cut costs without sacrificing the quality of workplace training can prove challenging.
Chadwick further explains that the mining industry invests a significant amount of time and money in recruiting and training employees each year, which often means that employees have to spend extended periods away from the workplace.

“Training employees can be a challenge for any industry, but it remains a vital component of any successful organisation, and the more engaging the subject matter, the more likely employees are to learn,” she says, adding that training in the mining industry equates to improved health, safety and production statistics.

Chadwick points out that mineworkers spend a lot of time in extremely dangerous environments and, as multinational profes-sional services firm PwC highlights, work-related injuries could lead to a halt in production, which puts the company’s licence to operate at risk. Therefore, as the mining industry employs a significant amount of unskilled workers, they need to undergo rigorous training before being allowed to work at their posts.

“A traditional learning approach might involve Microsoft PowerPoint presentations by an expert facilitator, during a three-day course on mine safety. However, the problem with this method of training is that traditional facilitator-based training does not always achieve the desired outcomes, owing to the quality of training material, language barriers and literacy levels, to name a few,” says Chadwick.

A lack of retention, which is a by-product of this training method, is likely to result in incidents or accidents. Training may also take longer than planned, which will undoubtedly have a negative impact on the bottom line.

Meanwhile, according to global market research company the NPD Group, $1.37-bil-lion was spent on video and personal computer games during the first quarter of 2013 in the US alone.

“Gamification is the process of using ‘gaming’ thought process and dynamics to engage audiences and solve problems. It is an incredible tool that we have at our disposal to overcome language and literacy barriers, irrespective of differing education levels, as it takes the onus away from text-based learning and allows most of the learning to take place while you are gaming,” she says, adding that, over the past few years, gamification has taken the world by storm and, according to analysis company Gartner, more than 70% of 2 000 of the world’s largest companies are expected to have deployed at least one gamified application by the end of 2014.

Psychologists believe it is the brain’s built-in reward system that keeps gamers coming back for more – a principle that can be used for workplace training. Gamers are rewarded for doing well in video games through virtual gold, added strength, points or other bonuses, depending on the game. Besides being interesting, video games are also designed to encourage players to keep trying until they succeed, and to focus on achievements rather than perceived failures. Successful e-learning courses are designed around the same principles of positive reinforcement and immersive content.

“Even if people do not usually play com-puter games, they are likely to enjoy the tasks presented through a gamified training course, which will encourage them to continue explor-ing and playing,” says Chadwick.

She says that it makes learning fun and interactive and, most importantly, it promotes accelerated learning and information retention. According to research conducted by market intelligence and consulting firm for the interactive entertainment industry M2, the gamification market was valued at around $100-million in 2011 and is estimated to grow to about $2.8-billion by 2016.

Gamification has the ability to focus on important topics in a serious manner without intimidating the learner. Chadwick says that, even if industries are not looking to immediately embark on upskilling programmes, employers might find it easier to explain mandatory safety training to their employees using gaming technology, while employees might find it easier to absorb that information. This will impact significantly on the company’s health and safety record in the long term.

Training programmes can be created according to the needs of the mining com-panies and can also be tailored to meet the language requirements of the employees.

“E-learning is an incredible tool that we have at our disposal and the benefits of using it as a training method within any organisation, particularly within the mining industry, are incomparable,” says Chadwick.

The benefits of applying e-learning in the mining industry include the ability to overcome language barriers by delivering a consistent message and the ability to update information easily. E-learning is also visually stimulating, which ensures higher retention levels, and it allows people to work at their own pace.

“Training and developing people are about putting the right tools in the right hands. There is no doubt the way forward will be through e-learning principles,” concludes Chadwick.