With the Rugby World Cup starting in Australia next month, the Australian Rugby Union have partnered with TAFE NSW to train the estimated 1500 Rugby World Cup workforce via a Web-based training portal at http://www.rugby2003.com.au.
The workforce, which comprises approximately 1200 volunteers and 300 paid employees, will have to undertake and pass compulsory online testing before undertaking their duties at the World Cup.
The password-protected site will allow the workforce to log in, view the training material and complete a 25-question test. Users will need to answer 20 questions correctly to pass to be eligible for the rugby 2003 workforce.
Faced with the logistical problem of training a workforce based in 10 cities around Australia, Rugby World Cup 2003 human resources manager, Brendan Gregor said in a statement that "The on-line training was an effective and practical method to ensure the Rugby World Cup 2003 workforce has the knowledge and expertise to be successful in their roles."
"Apart from always having the information available to them on-line for revision purposes, the program provides workforce members with flexibility when they wish to conduct their training without being regulated by a given day and time to attend training classes in person," he added.
The ARU decided to contract TAFE NSW's Open Training and Education Network, (OTEN) a specialist distance education provider, -For its expertise and proven reputation in training the volunteers for the 2000 Olympic Games."
John Wilson, creative director, multimedia, at OTEN told ZDNet Australia that the project took -approximately six months to complete -- that included content creation, planning and Web development".
-Working with the ARU was a very good experience. The only way to work on these projects is to be very close with the clients. The content becomes very specific so that worked well with the ARU." Wilson added.
