Chief Learning Officer Magazine to Replace Important Learning and Development Benchmarking Program

CHICAGO, April 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Chief Learning Officer magazine (CLO) announced today that it is stepping in to fill the void left by the demise of the Training Top 125, the annual ranking of corporate human capital development programs previously conducted by the now-defunct Training magazine. According to MediaTec Publishing Inc., CLO is introducing The Learning Elite in 2011. This prestigious list will recognize excellence in employer-sponsored learning and development and ensure that learning organizations the world over will continue to be able to benchmark their performance against "best of breed" companies and industry best practices.

"In February, Nielsen Business Media announced it would cease publication of Training magazine with the March/April 2010 issue and discontinue all associated events and programs, including the Training Top 125. That decision, in particular, left an important need unfilled in the enterprise education industry," said Norm Kamikow, president of MediaTec Publishing and editor in chief of Chief Learning Officer magazine.

"The magazine's annual ranking afforded companies a unique opportunity to evaluate both the scope and the value of the learning and development services they provide," Kamikow said. "It enabled learning organizations to objectively measure their effectiveness against those that consistently demonstrate positive business results. It also offered a valuable inside look at the innovative ideas, methods, tools and best practices used by the industry's most successful organizations. Most important, the annual competition provided a critical impetus for continuous improvement within the industry. That is something we just can't afford to lose. Chief Learning Officer is uniquely positioned to carry on this essential work."

Immediate industry reaction to the announcement has been extremely positive. "I am very excited to see this good work continuing and know it will be supported by a team uniquely qualified to sponsor the program," said Kevin Wilde, vice president of organization effectiveness and chief learning officer for General Mills, a corporation that has been in the top 10 of the rankings four out of the past five years.

"Learning and development is core to any successful organization, so it's important to encourage and highlight world-class organizations that reach the highest level of practice and impact. Further, I look forward to the insights and innovations from enterprisewide excellence in the field," said Wilde. "In other words, there is much to be recognized about great learning, and even more we need to all learn to be great at it."

According to Kamikow, The Learning Elite will serve to complement and enhance Chief Learning Officer magazine's existing Learning In Practice Awards, which celebrate specific learning programs and the individual achievements of visionary workforce development professionals and vendors. The new rankings will take a more organizational, enterprisewide approach, assessing not only innovative learning and development programming but also measurable business impact. Judges will evaluate a variety of quantitative and qualitative data on organizational learning programs and then rank the enterprises accordingly.

Criteria include the size and extent of a company's workforce development programming, corporate support for enterprise education, the infrastructure of the learning organization, the use of innovative delivery methodology, and internal metrics. Also under evaluation will be the human resources impact of workforce development and its effect on recruitment and retention, as well as employee engagement and satisfaction.

Companies named to The Learning Elite will be announced officially at the Spring 2011 Chief Learning Officer Symposium to be held March 28-30, 2011, at The Ritz-Carlton in Amelia Island, Fla., and highlighted in the April 2011 issue of Chief Learning Officer magazine. Additional information will be posted soon on the magazine's website, CLOmedia.com.

About MediaTec Publishing, Inc.

MediaTec Publishing Inc. is a leading integrated media company serving the human capital, management and workforce development industries.  MediaTec publishes Certification Magazine, Chief Learning Officer magazine, Talent Management magazine, Diversity Executive magazine and operates the online industry resource, HumanCapitalMedia.com. MediaTec leverages its award-winning editorial content with innovative integrated media products including targeted e-newsletters, webinars, interactive Web sites, special print and online supplements, resource guides, industry research and conferences that bring together international audiences to network and discuss leading-edge strategy and best practices in the industry. MediaTec partners with recognized industry experts and provides thought-provoking feature articles, news, opinions and insights through its award-winning publications, events and e-media.  Each MediaTec product gives readers the business intelligence and knowledge they need to succeed in new and changing markets.

SOURCE MediaTec Publishing, Inc.