Shell To Set Up Subsidiary For E-Learning

Oil and energy major Shell/Royal Dutch Group of Companies is setting up a wholly owned subsidiary in India for e-learning education services.

The proposed firm, Shell India E-services Pvt. Ltd, to be based in New Delhi, will undertake e-learning education business involving the creation, marketing and delivery of an Internet based e-learning solution catering to educational institutions, teachers, pupils and parents in India.

The capitalisation of this subsidiary could not be ascertained and Shell India executives could not make available details of the proposed business. However, Shell has already sought the government's nod to bring in the required foreign investment for the project, said sources.

The India project is a part of a larger initiative the Anglo-Dutch energy major has initiated this year. Shell/Royal Dutch Group of Companies is using e-learning techniques to train more than 30,000 employees in 45 countries in the latest technologies and skills needed in its highly competitive industry. However, government sources added, the India business plan aims at primary education involving students, teachers and educational institutions, akin to e-learning being propagated by US giant GE.

Shell uses e-learning worldwide to train its personnel in the diverse and complex area of exploration and production, the foundation of the petroleum industry which extends from the search for oil or gas to the delivery to the refinery, processing plant or tanker for shipment.

The Shell website says that the company, in order to achieve these objectives, has set up a web-based university-an Internet-based portal for training and education. Using X.HLP technology, it provides interactive, fully supported training to the company's employees around the globe and is helping the organization meet its stated business objectives.

E-learning covers a wide set of applications and processes such as web-based and computer-based learning, virtual classrooms and digital collaboration, according to the American Society of Training and Development (ASTD). It includes the delivery of content via the Internet, intranets and extranets (over LANs and WANs), audio and videotapes, satellite broadcast, interactive TV, and CD-ROMs.

According to experts, the online training market is expected to just about double in size every year through 2003, when it will reach a healthy $11.5 billion in worth. It is expected to cross $23 billion by 2004. A study in 2001 projected a 117 percent increase in the use of learning technologies between 1999 and 2002.

In January this year, Shell People Services, which has been set up to manage HR services within the company, entered into agreements with NETg and Cardean University to provide global e-learning services to the Royal Dutch/Shell Group of companies.

According to sources, e-learning has been used by a number of different businesses within Shell to date, but this is the first time it has been made available to the entire company globally. The solution will be rolled out across Shell over the next six months.