Online learning
YMCAed will write distance learning packages for charities and businesses
Central YMCA has claimed it is the first charity to set up a publishing agency for e-learning courses.
The new business, YMCAed, will write bespoke electronic distance learning packages for charities and businesses at what it described as affordable rates.
Twelve staff employed at Central YMCA’s marketing and communications division will work for the agency in addition to their normal roles.
The charity believes it will be able to take advantage of a boom in online learning fuelled by lower costs and easier accessibility for geographically dispersed students compared with face-to-face courses.
It said the market research agency Ambient Insight Research estimated that the global market for e-learning courses would grow from £19.8bn in 2010 to £30.8bn in 2015.
Central YMCA already provides e-learning courses for its own students and has written packages for external organisations such as the Mayor of London’s office.
Tim Beynon, publishing manager at Central YMCA, said: "E-learning is such an effective tool for carrying out training, saving money and reaching people. We hope that YMCAed will allow charities and not-for-profit organisations to take full advantage of all it can offer."
