THE E-LEARNING EDGE TO INSPIRE A WORKFORCE

A BRISBANE production studio's decision to diversify into the online training sector is paying dividends, with plans to crack the Asian market in the works.

Cutting Edge acquired a 70 per cent stake in a training organisation in 2014, after noticing some of its clients struggling to communicate with employees.

In partnership with the Australian Institute of Management, the business model was updated and rebranded as The e-Learning Company.

The business is backed by more than 25 years of experience under Cutting Edge, specialising in visual effects and post production for commercials, TV shows and films in Australia and overseas.

The business aims to take online training to the next level as a one-stop shop with access to animators, creative directors, editing suites and audio suites.

Cutting Edge director Matt Lawson (pictured) says the combination results in resolving organisational issues using creative concepts that wouldn't be out of place in a Hollywood movie.

"We saw an opportunity to help businesses with their internal communications to improve culture and inspire their employee's actions and behaviour in a positive way," Lawson says.

"The strategy is working with clients to impact their businesses through amazing content and smart instructional design, which is a key part of the training process.

"The team tries to understand the behaviour they're trying to change in their business and works with them to determine the best training method to effect that change."

The e-Learning Company has provided training and induction services for Queensland Health, The Coffee Club and G8 Education (ASX:GEM), building on Cutting Edge's client base of Flight Centre (ASX:FLT) and Super Retail Group (ASX:SUL).

The business is capitalising on a shift towards blended learning environments comprising face-to-face training with digital courseware that can be completed at the user's pace.

Lawson says the positive response from clients has confirmed the business's strategy, particularly in a competitive industry.

"There's lot of e-learning businesses around, it's quite a fragmented market in Australia," he says.

"But to my knowledge, there's no other e-learning business that fits within a creative content group like Cutting Edge.

"Video is becoming such an important part of training and at e-Learning Company's disposal down the hall is a broad range of creative talent and resources."

The e-Learning Company plans to expand to Asia by leveraging Cutting Edge's office in Tokyo. The e-learning industry in Asia has been forecast to be worth $18 billion by 2018.

The company is also in the process of developing its own range of training products, the first being an induction tool to motivate new employees.