October 15, 1999 09:14
NVQ in E-Commerce to Address Skills Shortage
CHATSWORTH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 15, 1999--Hyperchannel, IT NTO
(Information Technology National Training Organisation) and nto tele.com Friday announced
a partnership to launch the first Accreditation Scheme for training providers to run
e-commerce courses.
This Scheme will set the highest quality standard in education, against which all future
e-commerce qualifications and training will be measured.
Hyperchannel will support the creation of the U.K. Accreditation Scheme as part of its
long-term business strategy, with the combined effect of helping the government reach its
objective of making the United Kingdom the premier e-commerce location by 2002.
Hyperchannel, IT NTO and nto tele.com also hope to extend the project to develop the first
dedicated e-commerce qualification -- an e-commerce NVQ that the partner organizations
feel is an essential component of the push to counter the predicted skills shortage within this
rapidly expanding business sector.
According to research from IDC, a shortfall of 80,000 IT networking staff is forecast in the
U.K. by 2002 -- a figure that stands at 600,000 across Europe within the same time frame.
Nick Kandola, MD Hyperchannel, said: "This is the private sector helping the government
meet its objectives in the e-commerce arena by responding to U.K. PLCs' need for
high-quality training by reputable providers to help overcome the skills shortage in this area.
We at Hyperchannel are delighted to be able to provide the resources for this."
Anne Russell, chief executive IT NTO, said: "The current plethora of diverse information in
respect of e-commerce courses is confusing and off-putting, and many businesses are
experiencing difficulty when it comes to making a realistic assessment of training, and their
individual skills and technological requirements. The Accreditation Scheme will replace
confusion with rationalization and regulation. I am delighted."
Ian Lorimer, MD nto tele.com, said: "I am very pleased that this joint venture has been
brought to the market through the generous intervention of one of the key players in the
e-commerce arena."
Hyperchannel is also launching Friday its revolutionary e-commerce trading platform called
Hyporium(TM) into Europe. Hyporium(TM) allows buyers, resellers, distributors and
manufacturers to trade online. Major IT players including IBM, Compaq, Novell, Oracle and
3Com have already signed up to this new service, which is aimed at the IT sector.
Hyporium(TM)'s business model ensures that small and medium-sized businesses have
greater access to IT information together with real-time pricing and availability so that they
can procure their IT requirements electronically across the Internet. Hyperchannel will be
taking the initiative to bring major IT manufacturers together to support and develop the NVQ
program.
Hyporium(TM) is the brainchild of Hyperchannel Ltd, which specializes in creating dynamic
channels for new and emerging Internet-based technologies, and is an affiliated company of
MRV Communications Inc.
About MRV Communications Inc.
MRV Communications Inc. is a world-class leader in optical access. Its products integrate
fiber-optic transmission, switching, routing and remote access to enhance the performance
of enterprise and carriers' networks. MRV's fiber-optic transmission components send
Broadband Internet, voice, cable and cellular telephony to carriers and access networks.
Through its NBase-Xyplex brand, the company provides network enhancement solutions that
accelerate the deployment and improve the performance of complex data networks. For
more information, visit MRV at www.mrv.com.
Note to Editors: MRV and its logos are registered trademarks of MRV Communications Inc.
All other names may be trademarks, service marks or registered trademarks of their
respective vendors.
CONTACT: MRV Communications Inc.
Diana Hayden, 818/886-6782 (Investor Relations)
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